CPTnet
21 April 2009
IRAQ:  CPT visits family of baby killed by Iranian shelling

by Craig Kite

On 4 April 2009, Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) visited the family of a one and a half-year old boy, Mohammad Ahmed, killed when Iran shelled their village, Razga, on 10 March 2009.  The shelling violated an agreement Iran had made with the KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) to stop attacks on villages in the Pshdar district.  A mortar hit the roof of the family’s home while they slept at 9:00 p.m.  Four rockets landed inside the village the same hour.  Fifty families fled on foot to neighboring villages: Tutma, one-and-a-half hour away and Cuzina, three hours away.  The attack also injured the boy’s father, Ali Hamed Ahmed, in his head, back and leg, rendering him unable to walk.

An uncle drove onto the lethal scene in Razga to rescue the family and took them to a hospital in Qaladze, where records confirm their treatment.

The attack happened after displaced families had returned to Razga, because the media had announced that the area was safe, given the agreement between KRG and Iran.  Iraqi Kurdish Parliament member Zrar Khalel told members of CPT’s Iraq team, “There was an agreement with the KRG and Iran broke it.  It is up to the KRG to confront them.”  CPT learned in a U.N. security briefing that the KRG had asked Iran why it broke the agreement.  Iran answered that it was targeting PJAK militants.

Ali Hamed Ahmed’s family is staying at a relative’s house now like many of the 120 displaced families in the Pshdar district.

“We are all separated and homeless,” Ali told team members.  “I sold my few animals at a low price.”  (Many displaced families sold animals at the same time, resulting in a market glut.)  “The price rose again.  They will be too expensive to replace.”