Goldsmiths declare sit-in protest to sue killers of their colleagues in Falluja

ANBAR / IraqiNews.com: A number of goldsmiths in Falluja city, in west Iraq’s Anbar Province, have declared a sit-in protest inside the trade compound in the city’ss popular market on Monday, demanding the suiting of the persons, involved in killing their colleagues, about one year ago.   “We are not demanding things that can’t be achieved from Anbar Province’s officials, but most simple demands by any citizen, who had become target for killing and continued terrorism, calling for the suing of the killers of the goldsmiths and who stole their shops,” a Falluja Goldsmith, Yasser Abed, told IraqiNews.com news agency.   He said that “the armed attacks against goldsmith shops in Falluja, by a group of armed men, took place over one year ago and dozens of demanded men, were arrested under charges of carrying out the attacks, but none of them had been sued till now, despite their confessions and existence of evidence at the site of the crime.”   Abu-Ammar, owner of a goldsmith shop that was robbed, told IraqiNews.com that “the crime of robbing the goldsmith and money exchange shops took place on occasions close to each other, and the gang’s members were linked to each other, according to the results of investigations.   “The number of persons, involved in attacking, robbing goldsmith shops and killing 24 of their owners, had exceeded 10 persons only,” Abu-Ammar said, asking about the other members of the gang and demanding the complete result of chasing the demanded persons and suing them,” he said.   He said that his brother was killed inside his goldsmith shop, which was completely robbed, demanding the compensation or restoration of their rights from members of the gang, “because the robbed gold belongs to merchants in Baghdad.”   On his part, owner of a goldsmith shop in Falluja, Mohammed al-Kubeisy, told IraqiNews.com that “several problems face owners of goldsmith and money exchange shops, merchants and businessmen in Falluja, including fear from being abducted, together with their children, getting killed or their shops or houses robbed, after the incident of attacks that took place under day light.”   “We demand the judicial authorities to sue the demanded persons, and to hang them in Falluja’s trade compound, in front of the relatives of the innocent victims, who were killed for no guilt,” he said.   Noteworthy is that an armed gang had executed an armed attack on the trade compound in Falluja’s popular market, where 5 goldsmith shop owners were killed, 12 civilians injured, along with robbing large quantities of gold ornaments about one year ago.   Falluja, the largest city of Anbar Province is 60 km to the west of Ramadi, the center of Anbar Province, 110 km to the west of Baghdad.   SKH (FT) 544