- 2005 Baghdad bridge stampede
The 2005 Baghdad bridge stampede occurred on
August 31 ,2005 when up to 1,000 people died following astampede onAl-Aaimmah bridge , which crosses theTigris river in theIraq icapital ofBaghdad . It was the largest loss of life in Iraq in one day since the US-led invasion of 2003.The stampede
At the time of the stampede, around one million
pilgrim s had gathered around or were marching toward theAl Kadhimiya Mosque , which is the shrine of theImam Musa al-Kazim , one of the twelveShi'a Imam s. Tensions had been high within the crowd. Earlier in the day, seven people were killed and dozens more were wounded in a mortar attack upon the assembled crowd for which anAl-Qaeda linkedinsurgent group claimed responsibility. [ [http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/afx/2005/08/31/afx2199216.html Al-Qaeda linked group claims mortar attack in Iraq that led to stampede - Forbes.com ] ] Near the shrine, rumors of an imminentsuicide bomb attack broke out, panicking many pilgrims. Interior MinisterBayan Baqir Solagh said that one person "pointed a finger at another person saying that he was carrying explosives...and that led to the panic".The panicked crowd flocked to the bridge, which had been closed. Somehow, the gate at their end of the bridge opened, and the pilgrims rushed through. Some people fell onto the concrete base and died instantly. The ensuing crush of people caused many to suffocate. The pressure of the crowd caused the bridge's iron railings to give way, dropping hundreds of people 9 meters (about 30 feet) into the
Tigris river. There was nowhere on the bridge for the people to go, as the other end of the bridge remained closed, and was impossible to open anyway, as it opened inward.Owing to the nature of the incident many of those who died were those who could be considered physically weakest, such as the elderly, women and children.
People dived in from both ends of the bridge trying to help those drowning in the river. On the Sunni side, calls went out from the loudspeakers of local Mosques to help those in trouble. One teenager, Othman Abdul Hafez, a sunni Arab from the other side of the bridge, drowned as he rescued people in the water before succumbing to exhaustion, he was later praised as a "Shahid" by Iraqi politicians. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4214926.stm BBC NEWS | Middle East | Sunni rescuer hailed as Iraq hero ] ]
Aftermath
A three-day mourning period was announced by Iraqi Prime Minister
Ibrahim al-Jaafari . Iraqi PresidentJalal Talabani said the catastrophe "will leave a scar in our souls and will be remembered with those who died in the result of terror acts." Many of the dead were buried in the holy Shia Islamic town ofNajaf .There was some political fallout also from the event, with
Mutalib Mohammad Ali , TheMinister for Health , blaming the Defence Ministers for not doing enough to secure the area. However, the Prime Minister dismissed any calls for resignation for any ministry.After the stampede, a few commentators in the Western media speculated that given the scale of the incident it might tip the country into a
civil war by antagonizing theShi'a community. However, there was no immediate surge in sectarian violence. Opposition groups blamed the government and security forces for failing to prevent the incident. However, these groups themselves often encourage high turn-outs at religious events to prove the relative strength of their sect. Another factor leading to a high turn-out at Shia religious events is the fact such events were banned underSaddam Hussein , and so many attend to express faith in a way they were banned from doing for decades.The stampede received relatively little attention in the U.S. media because it occurred just two days after
Hurricane Katrina struck theGulf Coast , the aftermath of which continued to dominate headlines.World reaction
Governments and world leaders have offered their condolences after the deadly stampede:
*Syria n Foreign ministry official quoted by statenews agency Sana::"The Syrian government and people express their sympathy to Iraqis and to the families of the victims, and they wait for the day when security, stability and progress reign in the country."
*Iran Foreign Ministry spokesmanHamid Reza Asefi ::" [Iran offers its] condolences and sympathy with the Iraqi people and government. Suspicious hands are involved in conspiracies to incite violence and bloodshed among the different Iraqi groups and tribes so that they disturb the security and calm of the Iraqi people"
*UKForeign Secretary Jack Straw, speaking on behalf of theEU and the UK - current holder of the EU presidency::"It is still not clear exactly what started the stampede which led to these hundreds of deaths and injuries. However, it is clear that the same crowd of Shia pilgrims, celebrating an important Shia religious festival, had earlier suffered a mortar attack... I condemn utterly this despicable act of terrorism against innocent civilians just as I condemn, too, those that continue to use violence and terror more widely in order to further their aims in Iraq. The depravity of these individuals who commit these acts of terrorism against their fellow Muslims sadly knows no bounds."
*United States Department of State spokesmanSean McCormack ::"The
United States deeply regrets the tragic loss of life of worshipers in Kadhimiya, Baghdad today... Our sincere condolences and thoughts and prayers go out to the many Iraqi families who lost loved ones in this tragedy."
*Amr Mussa ,Arab League Secretary General :" [We need a] redoubling of Arab efforts to support the Iraqi people in their sad hour."
*Pakistan PresidentPervez Musharraf :"It is with most profound sadness and grief that I had learnt about the death of hundreds of pilgrims in Baghdad."
*UN spokeswomanMarie Okabe ::"The secretary general has learned with great sadness of the human tragedy that took place today in Baghdad."
References
External links
*
BBC News [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4199618.stm Iraq stampede deaths near 1,000]
** [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4203396.stm Iraq head defiant after stampede]
*CNN : [http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/09/01/iraq.main/index.html Iraq mourns 965 stampede victims]
*Reuters : [http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-09-01T022244Z_01_DIT131351_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-IRAQ-DC.XML Iraq mourns as stampede loss overshadows war]
*The Times : [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-1758443_1,00.html Panicked pilgrims were crushed or leapt for their lives into Tigris]
*The Guardian : [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1560359,00.html A cry of suicide bomber, and 700 perish in Iraq stampede ]
** [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1560227,00.html 'They were crying to be rescued. But there was no way to help them. It was survival']
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