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BAGHDAD, Sept 26: Mourners gathered in Baghdad on Friday for the funeral of a US-appointed Iraqi leader assassinated by gunmen.
Diplomats and prominent Iraqis held a memorial ceremony in Baghdad for Akila al-Hashemi, a female career diplomat who had been due to be part of the Iraqi delegation to the UN General Assembly this week.
She was attacked by gunmen in Baghdad on Saturday and died of her wounds on Thursday.
Members of her family carried her coffin, draped in an Iraqi flag, into the Governing Council offices, chanting the Islamic declaration of faith. Colleagues said her death would not stop the council’s determination.
“Those who thought that the death of Dr Akila would disrupt the march towards the dawn of democracy and freedom will be disappointed,” council member Iyad Allawi said. She was expected to be buried in the holy city of Najaf later on Friday.
AMNESTY: The human rights group Amnesty International on Friday condemned what it claimed was a virtual licence for US troops to kill in Iraq, with no proper probes.
“US forces are facing direct attacks and a serious law and order emergency, but that cannot be justification for a virtual licence to kill,” said a statement issued here.
“No one feels safe in Iraq now and not a day goes by without more civilians being killed or injured by US soldiers or by armed groups amidst total impunity,” it continued:
“What is most shocking is that there is no evidence of serious commitment to carry out independent, thorough and impartial investigations into these cases.”
“It is unacceptable that the coalition forces appear to continue to use excessive force on a wide-scale resulting in civilian deaths,” Amnesty protested.—Reuters/ AFP
