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Al Jazeera (English)
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Iraqi Civilian Deaths ... caused by Bush's unprovoked war

 

Mass burials for stampede victims
(BBC NEWS, 1 September 2005)
Large crowds have been attending mass funerals in the Iraqi capital Baghdad for some of those killed in Wednesday's stampede during a Shia ceremony. . . . Friends and relatives of some victims are still searching for their loved ones, as bodies continue to be recovered from the River Tigris. . . . More than 960 people died in the stampede, apparently triggered by rumours of an imminent suicide attack. . . . Shia leaders accuse Sunni Arab militants of starting the rumours. . . . Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari - himself a Shia - apparently accepted this theory, and called for tough action. . . . "The coming period will witness a strategic development in confronting terror and terrorists. And we will hit hard those murderers, radical militants and Saddamists," he said. . . . Funeral tents were set up in the district, but many of the dead were taken to the holy city of Najaf for final burial. . . . Security was tight on the Baghdad-Najaf road, which was choked with coffins loaded onto minivans and coaches. . . . But the BBC's Jon Brain in Baghdad says the mood is turning from shock to anger, with many Shia people blaming the government for what they see as a failure of organisation over the procession. . . . Cabinet ministers fell out over the stampede but the prime minister has rejected calls for sackings. . . . Community leaders are calling for calm, fearful that Wednesday's tragedy could stoke further violence. . . . The stampede was the largest single loss of life in Iraq since the US-led invasion more than two years ago. . . . It occurred after mortars were fired on crowds near the Kadhimiya mosque - the burial place of a venerated Shia religious leader. At least seven died and more than 30 were wounded. . . . About one million pilgrims were said to have converged at the Kadhimiya mosque when the crush happened. . . . Many of the dead were women, children, or elderly, who drowned when railings along a bridge over the River Tigris gave way under pressure. . . . More than 800 people were injured in the incident. . . . Health officials said on Thursday that bodies were still being retrieved from the river. . . . Dozens of tents have been set up in predominantly Shia areas of Baghdad to house the dead. . . . Distraught Iraqis continue to search for their missing relatives among lines of corpses laid out in hospitals and makeshift morgues.

[COMMENT by Lorenzo: How ironic that a similar scene is unfolding in the U.S. right now in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.]

posted by LoZo 5:05 PM