London - Britain's defense ministry says it is prepared to pay compensation to relatives of 13 Irish demonstrators shot to death in 1972 by British troops.
The ministry said on Thursday it was in contact with lawyers acting for the families of those killed during a protest in the Northern Ireland town of Londonderry, an outrage that became known as “Bloody Sunday.”
A 12-year-long investigation ruled in 2010 that British soldiers had been entirely to blame for the slaughter. Prime Minister David Cameron said the report had proven the deaths had been “unjustified and unjustifiable.”
The Bloody Sunday Inquiry, authorized by Britain's government in 1998, was seen as a key step to heal wounds left from Northern Ireland's four-decade conflict that left 3 700 dead. - Sapa-AP