Editing The Troubles (section)

===Arms importation===
{{further information|Provisional IRA in the Republic of Ireland|Provisional Irish Republican Army arms importation|Official Irish Republican Army#Support|Irish National Liberation Army#Arms importation}}
Both Republican and Loyalist paramilitaries sought to obtain weapons outside of [[Northern Ireland]] in order to achieve their objectives. Irish Republican paramilitaries received the vast majority of external support. Over the years, the Provisional IRA imported arms from external sources such as sympathisers in the [[Republic of Ireland]], [[Irish diaspora]] communities within the [[Anglosphere]], mainland Europe, the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]], and [[Libya]]n leader [[Muammar Gaddafi]]. The [[Soviet Union]] and [[North Korea]] supplied the Official IRA with 5,000 weapons,<ref>[http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/official-ira-doomsday-bunkers-may-still-contain-thousands-of-weapons-31267631.html "Official IRA "doomsday" bunkers may still contain thousands of weapons"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305225253/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/official-ira-doomsday-bunkers-may-still-contain-thousands-of-weapons-31267631.html |date=5 March 2016}}. ''Belfast Telegraph''. 31 May 2015.</ref> and the INLA received considerable arms from overseas as well.

The IRA's primary external support was from the Republic of Ireland, whose safe haven allowed the group to raise legal and illegal funds, organise and train, and manufacture a large number of firearms and explosives with ease and then smuggled them into Northern Ireland and England.<ref name="HWEFA">{{cite news|title=Support in Republic during Troubles 'key for IRA', book claims|url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2019/04/06/news/headline-1591367/|author=John Manley|date=6 April 2019|publisher=[[The Irish News]]}}</ref> The IRA's primary weapon in the Republic was [[explosive]]s (including [[gelignite]] and [[ANFO]]), which were responsible for the vast majority of the bombings in Northern Ireland and England throughout the conflict.<ref name="HWEFA"/> While the [[plastic explosive]] [[Semtex]] donated by Gaddafi was appreciated and infamous in IRA bombing campaigns, they were actually sparsely used. Notable events of IRA bombs of Irish origin included Bloody Friday, the Warrenpoint ambush, the assassination of Lord Mountbatten, and the Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings.

Loyalist paramilitaries also received support, mainly from Protestant supporters in Canada, England, and Scotland (including members of the Orange Order). From 1979 to 1986, loyalist paramilitaries imported up to 100 machine guns and "as many rifles, grenade launchers, magnum revolvers and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition from Canada."<ref>{{cite book|title=UVF – The Endgame|author= Henry McDonald and Jim Cusack|date=1997|page=119|publisher=[[Poolbeg Press]]}}</ref> Members of the [[Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland]] sent gelignite explosives to UDA and UVF members.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12445506.revealed-how-scots-loyalists-sent-gelignite-to-paramilitaries-secret-memo-says-explosives-were-shipped-in-small-boats/|title=Revealed: how Scots loyalists sent gelignite to paramilitaries. Secret memo says explosives were shipped in small boats|date=30 December 2005|publisher=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17965179.inside-story-ira-never-attacked-scotland/|title=Inside story: Why the IRA never attacked Scotland|author=Neil Mackay|date=12 October 2019|publisher=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/02/05/archives/arms-smuggling-is-said-to-aid-protestants-less-than-the-ira.html|title=Arms Smuggling Is Said to Aid Protestants Less Than the I.R.A.|author=[[Bernard Weinraub]]|date=5 February 1976|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> British Army's [[Force Research Unit]] (FRU) agent [[Brian Nelson (Northern Irish loyalist)|Brian Nelson]] also secured a large amount of weaponry from the South African government to loyalists.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j4pXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT330|title=Understanding Shadows: The Corrupt Use of Intelligence|author=Michael Quilligan|date= 2013|pages=330–331|publisher=Clarity Press|isbn=9-7809-8603-6286}}</ref>