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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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October 19th,
2007 - ‘My Sister Died in a Hail of Baghdad Bullets’ |
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‘My Sister Died in a Hail of
Baghdad Bullets’ Ulster-based engineer speaks of ‘raw’ pain By Claire McNeilly Belfast Telegraph October 19, 2007 An Ulster electrical
engineer last night spoke of his of his desperate plight to rescue his nieces
from Iraq after his youngest sister was shot dead by security guards in
Baghdad. Paul Manook, an Armenian who
is married to an Ulster woman and lives in Co Down, told how Marou Awnis 48,
was riddled with 40 bullets during the fatal shooting last week. Her best friend Geneva
Jalal, 30, was also killed after a four-vehicle convoy was attacked. Mr Manook, 57, vowed to
bring his sister's three children - Nora (21), Karoon (20) and Alice (14) -
to safety in Northern Ireland. Speaking to the Belfast
Telegraph last night, he said that the girls - who also lost their father,
Azad, three years ago due to complications after a heart bypass operation -
were inconsolable following their mother's violent death. "It's still so
raw," said MrManook, who was born in Baghdad and now lives in Millisle. He added: "Her
daughters just want their mum back. She was quite a tower. "She gave them strength
and cared for them, especially after their father died. "I've been speaking to
them every day since it happened and I told them I would work everything
out." He added: "I would like
to bring them here, and I'm hoping that the British Government will allow me
to do that." Mrs Awnis, a former
scientist with the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, died after security guards
from a private security firm opened fire as she was driving her Oldsmobile
through Baghdad's Karrada district. The 48-year-old died
instantly along with Ms Jalal, the front seat passenger. Two other passengers
in the car survived. In a statement, the
Australian-owned security firm Unity Resources Group said that its guards had
feared a suicide attack after they were " approached at speed by a white
car". The company's Chief
Operating Officer Michael Priddin added: "The vehicle did not heed
warnings and failed to halt. "Fearing a suicide
attack, only then did the team use their weapons in a final attempt to stop
the vehicle." He added: "We deeply
regret the loss of these lives." The Iraqi government has
condemed the killings as "reckless." Mr Manook, who has three
children with his wife of 30 years, Isobel (60), said he needed more
information. "When our brother Albert
phoned to break the news I burst into tears and I couldn't stop crying,"
he said. "She was shot 40 times.
It's a terrible way to die. "I'm in shock. Every
night I wake up and ask myself what my sister's face was like when she died. "I'd like to know the
truth about what happened. "She wasn't in a
dangerous area. Marou was coming back from the church with her friend when
she was shot. They had collected another woman, who was injured in the
shooting, and a 15-year-old boy, who wasn't. He added: "They are
still in shock. "Every time they see my
sister's daughters they start to shiver uncontrollably because they feel they
should have died as well." Mr Manook said that his
brother - who spent time in the notorious concentration camp at Auschwitz,
Poland - had the harrowing task of identifying her body. "Albert was horrified
at what he saw," said Mr Manook. "He said her head was
completely ripped open. She was completely riddled with bullets from the
chest upwards." After her husband's death,
Mrs Awnis supplemented a small income by working as an unofficial taxi
driver, chauffeuring her daughters and neighbours' children to university. "Marou was dressed
completely in black when she was killed," Mr Manook said. "It's tradition in the
Middle East that when your husband dies, you dress in black. "She also had to wear a
head cover, which, again, was also black. "It's possible that has
something to do with it (why she was shot). Maybe that's why they thought she
was a suicide bomber." Mr Manook - who was
devastated at being unable to attend his sister's funeral, which was held the
day after the tragedy - last saw his sister 15 years ago at a family reunion
in Amman, Jordan. However, he clearly recalled
their last phone conversation just a few days before her death. "I warned my sister to
get out of Iraq the last time we spoke and I told her to avoid areas of
difficulty," he said. "I can't believe I am
never going to see her again. I miss her terribly; the way she talked, so
nicely and calmly, and her beautiful smile." He added: "Police
investigations are under way. But nothing will ever bring Marou back. The
pain of that will never go away." External link: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/my-sister-died-in-a--in-hail-of-baghdad-bullets-13485884.html |