De Mistura denounces assassination of 3 candidates

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The UN special envoy for Iraq Staffan de Mistura condemned on Friday the assassination of three candidates running in the local council elections in the provinces of Baghdad, Ninewa and Diala on Thursday. “De Mistura vehemently denounced the assassination of Hazem Salem Ahmed from Mosul, Omar Farouq al-Aani from Baghdad’s al-Amiriya area and Abbas Farhan from Mandili in Diala on Thursday (Jan. 29),” according to a UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) release received by IraqiNews.com news agency. De Mistura, according to the release, termed the killing of those candidates as a heinous crime that is aimed at hindering the democratic process on the eve of the elections. Thursday (Jan. 29) has witnessed the assassination of three candidates in Ninewa, Diala and Baghdad. Abbas Farhan al-Azzawi, a candidate for the Reform & Development bloc, was killed along with his brother and cousin who were escorting him in a village in the district of Mandili, Diala, where he was campaigning. Hazem Sallam Ahmed, a candidate for the Iraqi Unity bloc, which is led by Ahmed al-Nada, was also killed on Thursday. Omar Farouq al-Aani, a candidate from the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP), was killed while on his way back home from a campaigning rally in the area of al-Amiriya, western Baghdad. AmR (P) 1