54 years ago today, August 25, 1971 (July 5, 1971 in the lunar calendar), Northern Ireland was in crisis. British troops survey Belfast neighborhoods after street fighting On August 25, 1971, riots broke out in Northern Ireland after the British government exercised emergency powers and imposed preventive confinement on some suspicious leaders of the Irish Republican Army. Prime Minister Brian Faulkner claimed the emergency measures were necessary to protect the safety of life and property in Northern Ireland. He also issued an order banning marches for six months. However, this aroused a strong reaction from the Roman Catholic minority. In the hours after 300 people were arrested by British troops and police patrols, street battles, gun battles and bomb blasts erupted in other cities in Belfast and Northern Ireland. In three days, 21 civilians and 2 soldiers were killed. Belfast is full of wrecks of cars and buses, making Belfast look like a ghost town. Fires caused by IRA bombs burn on the streets of Belfast. Belfast neighborhoods after street fighting. Belfast neighborhoods after street fighting.