 Political pressure for the action against the " no @-@ go " areas increased after the events of Bloody Friday in Belfast . A British Army attack was considered inevitable , and the IRA took the decision not to resist it . On 31 July 1972 , Operation <unk> was launched when thousands of British troops , equipped with armoured cars and armoured <unk> ( AVREs ) , dismantled the barricades and occupied the area . 
