Iraqi minister condemns killing of 2-year-old Kurdish girl by Belgian police

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Minister of Displacement and Migration Jasim al-Jaf on Wednesday condemned the death of an Iraqi Kurdish migrant child in Belgium after being shot by Belgian police on Thursday.

The perpetrators of this “painful” incident, which claimed the life of a 2-year-old girl should be held accountable, Jaf said in a statement to local news agencies.

He called on the Belgium government and the international community to protect the safety of Iraqi refugees and respect human rights in dealing with them.

On May 17, the girl, named Mawda Shamdin, died after police shot at a van they were pursuing that was carrying about 30 migrants near the city of Mons in southern Belgium.

Speaking to Kurdistan 24, Mawda’s parents, who had migrated from the city of Raniya in the Kurdistan Region, accused the Belgian police of being responsible for their daughter’s death.

The officers opened fire to stop the van carrying the migrants on a highway, the parents said, wounding Mawda on the cheek. She died shortly afterward in an ambulance en route to the hospital.

They stated that, after the shooting, they were detained in jail for one night and two days without being told the condition of their daughter.

Oliver Stein, a lawyer representing Mawda’s parents, called for an independent investigation and demanded that a parliamentary committee of inquiry look into facts surrounding the incident. 

Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon described the death of the child as a “tragic event with dramatic consequences,” stating that “the investigation is ongoing.”

On Monday, Belgium Prime Minister Charles Michel visited Mawda’s parents to learn more about the incident, as reported by Kurdistan 24 Brussels correspondent Barzan Hassan.

During his meeting with Mawda’s parents, Michel promised to launch a prompt investigation to determine the circumstances of their daughter’s death.

Editing by John J. Catherine