First funerals for victims of mosque attacks

International Desk: The first funerals are taking place for victims of the New Zealand mosque shootings that left 50 people dead.

Volunteers have travelled to Christchurch to assist with the burial process and support victims' families.

Islamic tradition calls for bodies to be buried as soon as possible, but the burials have been delayed by the scale of the identification process.

Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a self-described white supremacist, has been charged with murder.

Christchurch city officials issued strict guidance to the media ahead of Wednesday's funerals and requested that the families be left alone.

"The body will be brought on site, taken to a private marquee that has been set up as a family area," a council spokeswoman said.

"After a short time for prayers, family and friends will carry the body to the grave site where it will be laid to rest," she added.

Police on Wednesday named six of the victims of the shootings at the Al Noor mosque and hoped to release all 50 bodies to the families by the end of the day. All post-mortem examinations were complete, police said.

Yet some families expressed frustration with the delayed identification process. Mohamed Safi, 23, whose father Matiullah Safi died at the Al Noor mosque, complained about the lack of information.

He toald a news agency: "They are just saying they are doing their procedures... Why do I not know what you are going through to identify the body?"

In a statement on Tuesday, the police said: "[We] are acutely aware of frustrations by families associated with the length of time required for the identification process following Friday's terror attack.

"We are doing all we can to undertake this work as quickly as possible and return the victims to their loved ones."

New Zealand's immigration service said it was processing visas for the families of the victims seeking to come from abroad to attend funerals.

Following an appeal by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, some New Zealanders have begun handing in weapons.

John Hart, a farmer in the North Island district of Masterton, posted on Twitter he had given his semi-automatic rifle to police to be destroyed.

His post drew a lot of support but also a wave of abusive messages to his Facebook page from many gun owners, particularly in the US where the pro-gun lobby is particularly strong.

New Zealand police said they were still gathering information on how many weapons had been handed in, Radio New Zealand reported.

Ms Ardern on Monday said the nation's gun laws would be reformed in the wake of the attack. Details of the plans are expected within days.

The country's hunting lobby on Tuesday said it backed reforms, calling for a ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines.

Source: BBC


risingbd/March 20, 2019/Mukul