The UVF also attacked republican paramilitaries and political activists . These attacks were stepped up in the late 1980s and early 1990s , particularly in the east Tyrone and north Armagh areas . The largest death toll in a single attack was in the 3 March 1991 Cappagh killings , when the UVF killed IRA members John Quinn , Dwayne O'Donnell and Malcolm Nugent , and civilian Thomas Armstrong in the small village of Cappagh . Republicans responded to the attacks by assassinating senior UVF members John Bingham , William " Frenchie " Marchant and Trevor King as well as Leslie Dallas , whose purported UVF membership was disputed both by his family and the UVF . The UVF also killed senior Republican paramilitary members Liam Ryan , John ' Skipper ' Burns and Larry Marley . According to Conflict Archive on the Internet ( CAIN ) , the UVF killed 17 active and four former republican paramilitaries . CAIN also states that republicans killed 15 UVF members , some of whom are suspected to have been set up for assassination by their colleagues
1991 Cappagh killings
1991 Cappagh killings
Ulster Volunteer Force