PHOTOS: Hundreds attend funeral and burial of Kurdish girl killed by Belgian police

BRUSSELS (Kurdistan 24) – Dozens of hundreds of people on Wednesday attended a funeral ceremony and burial for a 2-year-old Kurdish girl who was shot and killed by police in Belgium over a week ago.

On May 18, Mawda Shamdin, a 2-year-old Kurdish girl, died after police shot at a van carrying migrants near the city of Mons in southern Belgium.

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

The child died from her wounds soon after the van she was traveling in with around 30 migrants, including her parents, was chased by Belgian police and shot at.

The police had opened fire to stop the van carrying the migrants on a highway, wounding Mawda on the cheek who later died in the ambulance on her way to the hospital.

Prosecutor Frederic Bariseau told AFP an autopsy had determined the cause of death was “a bullet that entered the cheek,” adding that they are assessing the evidence as the bullet could be “from a police officer’s gun.”

A Kurdistan 24 correspondent in Belgium, Barzan Hassan, revealed that Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel had visited the girl’s parents following her death to learn more about the incident.

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

The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Representation for the European Union on May 24 promised to pursue the case and provide support for Mawda’s family in coordination with the Belgian government.

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, urged on Sunday a prompt investigation into the incident which it described as “regrettable,” and expressed its “deepest condolences” to the Shamdin family.

(Kurdistan 24 correspondent Barzan Hassan in Belgium contributed to this report)