IRAQ: THOUSANDS OF MOURNERS ATTEND FUNERAL OF IRAQIS WHOSE BODIES HAVE BEEN FOUND NEAR MADAEN

Record ID: 646701

  • Title: IRAQ: THOUSANDS OF MOURNERS ATTEND FUNERAL OF IRAQIS WHOSE BODIES HAVE BEEN FOUND NEAR MADAEN
  • Date: 22nd April 2005
  • Summary: (BN 11) NAJAF, IRAQ (APRIL 21, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. SLV ARMED MEN ON A TRUCK AT FUNERAL FOR IRAQIS WHOSE BODIES HAVE BEEN FOUND NEAR MADAEN; CROWD OF MOURNERS CHANTING (3 SHOTS) 0.20 2. LAS MEN ON TOP OF TRUCK CHANTING AND WAVING IRAQI FLAG 0.28 3. SHORT BACK VIEW MOURNERS TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OF BODIES OF SEVENTEEN MEN SAID TO HAVE BEEN KILLED IN OR NEAR MADAEN; BODIES IN BACK OF TRUCK 0.46 4. MV MOURNERS CHANTING AND WAVING THEIR ARMS; BODIES LYING IN WOODEN COFFINS IN BACK OF TRUCK; SCU MAN BANGING HIS HEAD IN GRIEF; MOURNERS CHANTING AND WAVING THEIR ARMS (4 SHOTS) 1.26 5. MV MAN IN BACK OF TRUCK WEARING FACE MASK AND LOOKING AT BODIES LYING IN WOODEN COFFINS IN BACK OF TRUCK 1.43 6. SLV CARS IN FUNERAL PROCESSION LED BY SHI'ITE CLERICS; MOURNERS MARCHING IN FUNERAL PROCESSION (5 SHOTS) 2.21 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 7th May 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NAJAF, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Reuters ID: LVA47VVN5D70XDKV1A2G8PLXRTZ6
  • Story Text: Thousands of mourners have attended the funeral of
    Iraqis whose bodies have been found near Madaen.

    Thousands of Shi'ite Muslims attended the funeral
    on Thursday (April 21, 2005) of 17 suspected victims of Sunni
    killings in Madaen.

    They marched in the holy city of Najaf, the traditional
    burial site of all Shi'ites, to show their solidarity with
    Shi'ites they believe were deliberately targetted by Sunnis
    whom they claim were intent on starting factional fighting.

    Kurdish President Jalal Talabani said on Wednesday
    (April 20) that the caretaker Prime Minister would give a
    list of the people killed in Madaen amidst growing concern
    that the story was fabricated for political gain.

    He said he had confirmation that at least 50 people had
    been killed and that some of their bodies had been dumped
    in the Tigris river.

    The Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq
    (SCIRI) whose leader, Abdel Aziz Hakim, heads the majority
    Shi'ite group in the National Assembly, posted a series of
    photographs on their website claiming to be the mutilated
    and bloated bodies of hostages killed in the Madaen crisis.

    But Iyad Allawi still has not come forward with any
    names nor any evidence they have caught those responsible.

    Some of the bodies which arrived in Najaf were so
    decomposed they were skeletal suggesting they had been dead
    for quite some time before the Madaen crisis.

    On Monday, Iraqi forces searched Madean for the
    hostages but found scant evidence of captives or gunmen
    despite claims by Shi'ite politicians that 150 people had
    been held.

    Some government officials maintain Shi'ite leaders
    exaggerated the scale of any hostage crisis in an attempt
    to gain political leverage over Sunni rivals as
    negotiations to form a government drag on months after
    elections on Jan. 30.

    Talabani had also said on Wednesday that a government
    would be likely formed on Thursday (April 21) but an
    awaited announcement and press conference was canceled
    early on Thursday afternoon.

    Confusion over events, including if any hostages were
    ever held by anyone, has underlined how out of touch
    Iraq's authorities have become as the political vacuum
    deepens.

    Police cautioned from the start that perhaps only a
    few people were being held and said the situation was the
    result of weeks of tit-for-tat kidnapping between rival
    tribes.

    Despite those findings, Shi'ite politicians in Baghdad
    maintained that abuses had occurred in and near Madaen.

    They put Reuters in touch with Shi'ite villagers from
    the town of Suwayra, south of Madaen, who said scores of
    bodies had been found dumped in the Tigris river over the
    last few days. Some had been moved to a local military
    hospital by Iraqi troops, they said.

    A Reuters cameraman visited Suwayra, spoke with village
    residents and police and toured the hospital but found no
    evidence of bodies.

    Days later the Arabic channel Al Arabiya showed
    pictures of relatives collecting the bodies of the hostages
    in Suwayra as well as graves.

    Shi'ites won the elections but have yet to see their
    victory converted into political power.

    Iraq's political factions are increasingly at odds over
    the distribution of ministries in the yet-to-be-formed
    government.

    The main Shi'ite political party is determined to
    secure the Interior Ministry and adamant that the Defence
    Ministry should not be controlled by Sunnis.

    Madaen, the nearby town of Salman Pak and other mixed
    Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite settlements in the area have been
    hotbeds of militancy over the past two years, with frequent
    attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces. Tribal loyalties are
    strong in the area.


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