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Human Rights Watch Slams Iraqi Government for Hawija

The Iraqi government is being held accountable for the attack on demonstrators in Hawija on April 23 that resulted in 50 deaths, writes Mushreq Abbas.
A platform at a makeshift camp is removed by heavy equipment at a public square in Hawija, near Kirkuk, 170 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad April 23, 2013. Iraqi forces stormed the Sunni Muslim protest camp on Tuesday, and more than 50 people were killed in the ensuing clashes which spread beyond the town of Hawija, to other areas.Picture taken April 23, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY POLITICS) - RTXYZJD
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The bloody attack that occurred in Hawija on April 23 is being seen as part of the political, security and sectarian conflict in Iraq. This attack, however, is also a key test of the new Iraqi political system and its ability to handle security crises without abandoning democratic values and human rights principles.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report on May 4 on the incident and cast doubt on the official version of events. HRW called for a transparent investigation into how more than 50 people were killed and 180 wounded in the raid on April 23, 2013, by the Iraqi army on a square in Hawija (180 kilometers or 112 miles north of Baghdad), where protesters were holding a sit-in.

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