"The Troubles  in Northern Ireland was a dark time for the city of Belfast and Britain in general. It was caused by sectarian hatred between radical groups of the Protestant and Catholic faiths. The Protestant and Catholic people have had hatred towards each other since the split that created the Church of England in the 16th Century. However, the Troubles in Northern Ireland were not only caused by the religious hatred between the two groups, but also by ethnic and national pride that still is seen today. When Ireland was divided in 1916 after the nationalist rebellion, some Irish Catholics got "stuck  in Northern Ireland where the Governing body was tied to Britain and was very Pro-Protestant. For the Catholics this meant that finding a job became very hard and they became the subjects of economic and personal discrimination by the Protestants. Many people view this discrimination as similar to the racial segregation in the United States when blacks were separated and treated terribly through the Jim Crow laws after the Civil War. This is exactly what happened to the Irish Catholics who were living in Northern Ireland. The Troubles officially started in the late 1960s with many religious riots in Belfast. It continued for over 30 years to 1998 when a peace agreement was signed between the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and the British Forces. Belfast was a "perfect  spot for this Ethno-nationalist conflict between the Protestants and Catholics because of the location. Belfast being part of the United Kingdom, but bordering the Republic of Ireland, the city mixed the two cultures and nationalities which had caused the conflict originally. Adding the fact that Protestants and Catholics have hated each other since the 16th century created a dangerous situation that, like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, could only be resolved through conflict and bloodshed. The Irish Catholics who felt mistreated after Ireland was divided in 1916 formed a paramilitary group called the IRA. The IRA were known as terrorists in Northern Ireland and across the world. They used bombing tactics to scare and send messages to the UDA (Ulster Defense Association) and the British Government. Most of the attacks were not aimed to kill any important members of the UDA, but rather to kill innocent civilians and scare the UDA into agreeing to whatever the IRA wanted for themselves and by extension for the Catholics in Belfast and across Northern Ireland. The UDA was a defense association that was the IRA's main opposition during The Troubles. The IRA and UDA conflict was the main political conflict during The Troubles. The IRA were seen in the international press as the "bad guys  because of their tactics and they were called terrorists and inhumane by correspondents and politicians across the globe. However, in reality, the UDA fought with similar tactics killing prominent members of the Roman Catholic Church as well as high-ranking republicans in Ireland. British troops, who were sent to Northern Ireland to control the situation and create the conditions for peace, made matters worse as their presence seemed to infuriate the IRA even more resulting in many anti-British and anti-protestant bombings in Belfast as well as in parts of mainland Britain. T