NI Troubles - British troops guard barricade on the Falls Road, Belfast; 1969

British troops guard barbed wire barricade as a security measure, on the Falls Road in Belfast, letting cars through, after recent sectarian violence and rioting (BBC News 231/69/04 - 19/08/1969 - AEXZ288W) STORY: The British Government ordered the deployment of troops to Northern Ireland in August 1969 at the start of the Troubles. This was to counter the growing disorder surrounding civil rights protests and an increase in sectarian violence. Initially their role was as a security presence and it was hoped their presence would be accepted as a neutral peacekeeping force between unionists and nationalists. But as time moved on many Catholics saw it as a tool of the Unionist Government in Northern Ireland. As violence in Northern Ireland increased, so did levels of violence against the army and the police.