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Chronology of Events in Iraq, October 2003*

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Chronology of Events in Iraq, October 2003* Chronology of Events in Iraq, October 2003* October 1 Violence erupts at Iraqi unemployed protests in Baghdad and Mousul (Reuters) Protests by frustrated jobless Iraqis in two cities turned violent as demonstrators threw rocks and set cars ablaze while local security forces responded with gunfire. In central Baghdad, a few dozen protesters looking for work at a U.S.-backed local security force hurled rocks at the building. Flames and black smoke poured from a police car and a civilian vehicle while gunfire echoed around the area. In the city of Mosul, a much larger crowd threw rocks at an employment office before marching to a local government building. Some storekeepers closed their shops. At the Baghdad protest, which took place near a hotel where many Western journalists and other foreign workers are based, police fired automatic rifles and pistols as demonstrators took cover behind nearby buildings. Protesters said they had come repeatedly to the office of a force set up to guard state property to look for work. US military shortens Baghdad curfew (Agence France-Presse/AFP) The US military, citing "recent improvements in security," has pushed back by an hour the 11:00 pm curfew imposed on Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein. The spokesman said the midnight to 4:00 am curfew took effect in "another sign that conditions in Iraq continue to improve". "Recent improvements in security and the reduction of crime in the city of Baghdad have prompted military officials to scale back the curfew in effect throughout the city since the fall of the prior regime," he said. Mandaean community forms new grouping (London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat) The formation of the Mandaean Democratic Grouping [MDG] has been announced in Baghdad. According to a statement it issued, the MDG will firmly and actively work to ensure that the Sabean-Mandaean community gets its voice heard in official forums. The statement called for affirming the rights of the Mandaean community in Iraq's permanent constitution and related man-made laws, particularly with regard to the personal statute law. It also called for the representation of the community in legislative and executive committees and the future parliament. Court reportedly issues warrant for arrest of Turkoman leader (Iraqi Kurdish newspaper Hawlati) The investigation judge in the city of Kirkuk has issued a warrant for the arrest of the new head of the Iraqi Turkoman Front, Faruq Abdallah Abd-al-Rahman, and another official of the front, Najm Oglu, on charges of killing the citizen Nasr-al-Din Qasim. The brother of the victim, Dawud Qasim, made an official complaint against the two aforementioned persons on September 24. He claims that a day earlier, an officer, a * Disclaimer: Reports contained in this document are selected from publicly available sources and edited by country experts. The information provided here is not, and does not purport to be, either exhaustive with regard to conditions in the country of origin surveyed, or conclusive as to the merits of any particular claim. Further information may be obtained from BO Ankara. Chronology of Events in Iraq UNCHR Ankara October 2003 Page 1 17/02/2004 commissioner and a policeman came by a taxi, and took his brother to an unknown place. Before that, the head of the Turkoman Front allegedly threatened the family with revenge. The investigation judge issued the arrest warrant on the basis of Article 406 of the Iraqi Penal Law. October 2 Shiites protest against US forces for detaining a cleric (Kuwait newspaper Kuwait Times) Tensions were running high at the Ali Kazem Al-Bayai mosque in southwestern Baghdad, where several dozen Shiites gathered to protest the brief detention of their preacher, Moayed Al-Khazraji. During the rally, several US military vehicles arrived but were driven off in a hail of stones. As one of the vehicles drove away, a US soldier fired a few warning shots in the air. Several mosque security guards returned fire with handguns, but there were no injuries. Shi'i fighters said killed ten Sunni Islamists in Basra (London-based newspaper Al-Zaman) It was alleged that fighters belonging to the Shi'i Islamic Al-Da'wah Party are killing extremist Salafi Islamists (Sunni) who are regarded as Wahhabis. It was reported that at least ten Salafis were killed by unknown elements believed to be fighters belonging to the Islamic Al-Da'wah Party, on the pretext of attacking Shi'i mosques in Basra. It was alleged, for example, that a Shi'i mosque being bombed in the Abu-Khusayb region, southern Basra, pushing them to retaliate against the Salafi elements. A number of them were reportedly killed and buried in Al-Zubayr area, where there is a Sunni majority, close to the Iraq-Kuwait border. October 4 Council of Judges begins work in Baghdad (Coalition Provisional Authority/CPA-Iraq website) Iraq's newly re-established Council of Judges began its work in Baghdad. The Council will supervise Iraq's judicial and prosecutorial systems. The Council will investigate allegations of professional misconduct and incompetence, take necessary disciplinary or administrative actions and nominate lawyers to fill judicial and prosecutorial vacancies. The Council will operate independently of the Ministry of Justice. "The Council of Judges assures the independence of the judiciary, away from any interference by any authority in the judicial or prosecutorial affairs," said Judge Mithat Al-Mahmood, Supreme Court Chief Justice and President of the Council. The Council was first established in 1963, but was abolished by the former regime in 1979. In addition to the chief justice, the Council consists of the deputy chief justices of the Supreme Court, the director-general of the State Council Assembly, the director-general of the Office of Public Prosecution, the director-general of the Legal Supervision Office, the director-general of administration and the presidents of the appellate courts. Iraqi killed by coalition fire in Basra (AFP) Chronology of Events in Iraq UNCHR Ankara October 2003 Page 2 17/02/2004 An Iraqi was shot dead by coalition forces when fighting broke out as army veterans awaited payments of back salary in the southern port of Basra, according to witnesses and a British military spokesman. An Iraqi army veteran, who witnessed the incident, said former soldiers had lined up to get their pay and some of them started to argue with the Coalition Provisional Authority employees handing out the money. British troops arrived and fired shots when they spotted a man with a gun, who was actually a security guard for a neighbouring school, witnesses said, adding three others were wounded by gun fire. Iraqi taxi driver wounded in Kirkuk blast (AFP) An Iraqi taxi driver was seriously wounded when a roadside bomb exploded as he drove along a road in northern Iraq frequently used by US troops, Iraqi police and medical officials said. Hatem Omar Jibburi, 40, suffered injuries to several parts of his body and his two legs were broken, a doctor at Kirkuk General Hospital said. October 5 School heads go into hiding after Baghdad teacher is killed (UK newspaper The Sunday Telegraph) Several Iraqi head teachers were in hiding as schools reopened for the new term after they had received death threats for belonging to the former ruling Ba'ath party, even though membership was compulsory under the Ba’ath regime. In the rundown Baladiat district of eastern Baghdad, a note signed "the Penalty Committee" was posted on school gates this summer, naming 10 heads who would be killed if they returned to work. Widad Sa'ad, the head of Wahran girls' school and a mother-of- three, ignored the warning, even after armed men threatened her. [She was shot dead in September 2003]. The murder of the popular and conscientious 52-year-old has left others fearful. Rajha Abdul al-Jabar, 60, should have been starting her final year in work at the nearby school of Kimat. Instead, she has quit her job and gone into hiding after telling friends that she feared for her life. Another head teacher in the district has gone into hiding after receiving a live bullet in the post. Ms Sa'ad's counterpart at Wahran boys' school, Ahlam Salman, left Baghdad and is being protected by relatives. The education authorities have brought in a new headmaster from outside to supervise both schools. Although Baladiat is the worst-affected area, teachers have been threatened across the country. An education ministry official estimated that "dozens" were in hiding. As well as Ms Sa'ad, at least two other teachers have been killed recently. Owner killed in attack on shop "selling alcoholic drinks" (Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party newspaper Khabat) Armed men attacked a shop, selling alcoholic drinks, with hand grenades in Zuhur District in the city of Mosul. The owner of the shop, Safa Sabah Lora, a Christian citizen from Tilkef, was killed. October 6 Notorious Baghdad prison camp closed (AFP) Chronology of Events in Iraq UNCHR Ankara October 2003 Page 3 17/02/2004 The US military said it had shut down Camp Cropper, a notorious makeshift prison facility at Baghdad airport where hundreds of Iraqis were held in tents. The camp, where prisoners were held in the scorching summer heat, had drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups, including Amnesty International, which protested what it termed the "degrading" treatment of prisoners. Krivo said the prisoners were moved to "superior facilities" and that most were taken to Baghdad Central prison. October 9 Nine dead in suicide attack on Baghdad police station (AFP) Nine people were killed, including a suicide bomber and three Iraqi police officers, in a car bomb attack on a police station in Baghdad's Sadr City neighbourhood, according to US military police.
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