BY ROHAN PEARCE
On April 15, 13 Iraqi civilians were killed and 29 wounded by US troops in the northern city of Mosul. The next day, US troops shot dead a further four Iraqis and wounded 10 others. Both atrocities occurred at anti-US protests outside the city governor's office.
The April 15 attack occurred after Mosul residents had reacted hostilely to a pro-US speech by the newly installed governor, Mashaan al Juburi. According to Agence-France-Presse, a US warplane flew over the city at a very low altitude following the massacre.
An April 16 article in the Sydney Morning Herald reported the account of Marwan Mohammed, who witnessed the attack: We were at the market place near the government building, where Juburi was making a speech. He said everything would be restored water, electricity and that democracy was the Americans.
As for the Americans, they were going through the crowd with their flag. They placed themselves between the civilians and the building. The people moved toward the government building, the children threw stones, and the Americans started firing. Then they prevented the people from recovering the bodies.
From Green Left Weekly, April 23, 2003.
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