Today In History: Londonderry

In 1969, British troops arrived in Northern Ireland to intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics.

The army was ordered to Northern Ireland on the afternoon of Aug. 14, 1969, to quell a two-day-old riot in the Catholic Bogside quarter of Londonderry, the province's second-largest city.

From 1966 to 1969, rioting and street fighting escalated between Protestants and Catholics in Londonderry. The tension was fostered by extremist nationalist Protestants, who feared the Catholics might attain a local majority, and by Catholics demonstrating for civil rights.

The British troops have remained in the region for the past 29 years.