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Qassem Suleimani: tears mix with vows of vengeance at Iran general's funeral march Qassem Suleimani: tears mix with vows of vengeance at funeral
(about 1 hour later)
Mourners weep and beat chests as coffins of those killed in US drone strike pass through Baghdad’s streets Mourners weep and beat chests as coffins of those killed in US drone strike pass through Baghdad
In a wide street shaded by tall eucalyptus trees, thousands of mourners thronged around pick-up trucks and ambulances carrying the coffins of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani, his close Iraqi associate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and others who were killed in an American drone strike. In a wide Baghdad street shaded by tall eucalyptus trees, thousands of weeping, chanting mourners thronged pick-up trucks and ambulances bearing the coffins of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and his close Iraqi associates, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and others, killed in a US drone strike that threatens to remake the region.
Some of the mourners wore black shirts and suits, others donned the military fatigues of their militias. Their chants of: “Oh Abu Mahdi, oh Suleimani your blood won’t be shed in vain,” mixed with the rhythms of a slow funeral march struck by a military band. Grief mingled with rage in the crowd, borne along by chants of “Oh Suleimani your blood won’t be shed in vain”, and the rhythms of a slow funeral march struck by a military band. An honour guard in long red tunics and white pith helmets escorted the dead; beyond them thousands of civilian mourners in black walked beside others in the combat fatigues of their militia units. They were gearing up to trade grieving for vengeance.
Among the crowd stood some of Iraq’s leading politicians and close Iranian allies – the PM, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, former PM Nouri al-Maliki as well as Hadi al-Amiri, who was appointed as a replacement for Muhandis. There were also many senior militia commanders surrounded by a circle of bodyguards who stood under the many-coloured flags of their respective militias, all part of the Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilisation Units. “We have been in a state of war with America for many years, but it was a quiet and soft war,” said one fighter, who gave his name as Abu Moslem. “Now after the killing … the war will take place in the open, not only against America but also against all their agents and stooges inside Iraq.”
Two honour guards in long red tunics and white pith helmets decorated with white feathers walked nervously among the battle-hardened militiamen. Earlier, the coffins had been taken to the Kadhimiya shrine in northern Baghdad, where an even larger crowd wept and beat their chests and heads. In life, Suleimani held sway over large swathes of the Middle East; his death has convulsed the region. There is mourning and rage in his homeland Iran, the crucible of his influence Iraq, and other places where his money, weapons and connections were key to propping up politicians and funding militias.
The coffins were taken early in the morning to Kadhimiya neighbourhood in northern Baghdad, where a larger crowd had marched to the Shia shrine, weeping and beating their chests. After the procession in Baghdad, the coffins were to make their way to the holy cities of Kerbala and Najaf. The crowd in Baghdad included many of Iran’s leading politicians and commanders, including the prime minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. A clutch of senior militia commanders stood surrounded by bodyguards under the multi-coloured flags of their groups.
For the past few years, the adversaries US and Iran had coexisted awkwardly in Iraq, where the US occupied large military bases while the Iranians trained and armed tens of thousands of fighters. In Gaza too, several hundred Palestinians gathered for a mourning ceremony at a tent erected in Suleimani’s honour in the heart of Gaza city, with US and Israeli flags on the ground for visitors to trample as they came in. “We are loyal to those who stood with the resistance and with Palestine,” Ismail Radwan, a Hamas official said.
During the war against Islamic State militants, the two sides shared a common enemy, but the delicate rules governing their relationship in Iraq started crumbling after the American withdrawal from the nuclear agreement. But there was also celebration and relief among those who feared Suleimani, or lived through the conflicts he managed ruthlessly over the past two decades, from Syria to Yemen. A thousand kilometres from Baghdad, in opposition held areas of Syria’s northern Idlib province, children drew placards thanking US president Donald Trump for ordering the deadly attack, and handed out sweets to celebrate the demise of the man they blamed for death and devastation.
“We have been in a state of war with America for many years, but it was a quiet and soft war,” said a member of the pro-Iranian militia who attended the funeral. “Now after the killing of the leaders Suleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the war will take place in the open not only against America but also against all their agents and stooges inside Iraq.” “When I received the news of Suleimaini’s death, I felt that finally I saw justice for those who lost their lives because of him,” said Ahmad Al Shami, a 27-year-old Syrian journalist whose hometown of Madaya was besieged by Hezbollah, one of the proxy militias which answered to Suleimani.
The assassinations have also shifted the narrative of the anti-government demonstration of the past three months. Many of the protesters camping in Tahrir Square, who opposed the Iranian government for their support of the corrupt Iraqi religious parties and their militias, were quick to condemn the attack, fearing an increase of reprisal attacks and a crackdown that has already left 500 dead. Over two years, 80 people died of acute malnutrition, half of them children, and 235 died in shelling or trying to escape, according to activist Amjad al-Maleh, another Madaya resident.
“This American attack came with the worst timing,” said one of the leaders of the demonstration. “The Iranian militia didn’t only starve us or kill us, they also displaced us from our homes so my happiness at the death of one of Iran’s most prominent leaders is indescribable,” said al-Maleh. “The Middle East is now a better place without this person.”
“These militias were already calling us American agents to justify their attacks on us, and we fear that they [Iranian and their militias] will use the assassination of Suleimani as a pretext to destroy our protest.” In Israel too, Suleimani’s death was welcomed by many. He was a household name there, infamous for his role in the civil war in neighbouring Syria, and long regarded by the country’s military and government as one of its biggest threats.
“We’ve been on the brink of war with the Iranians for a long time. It’s better that we will start the war and not them,” said Yshai Levy, 34, a software developer walking his dog nearby. “Son of a dog, (Suleimani’s) day came, and they eliminated him.”
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing Washington for years to take more aggressive action against Iran, and Israeli fighter jets have carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, including against Iranian-backed forces.
“They need to continue as much as needed and to eliminate them,” said Neorai Cohen, 25, drinking at a bar in Jerusalem’s covered market.
But in Baghdad demonstrators who have been risking their lives on the streets for months, to push for greater democracy and protest at Iranian influence on Iraqi politics, warned that the death of Suleimani might just give his agenda a posthumous bolster.
“This American attack came with the worst timing,” said one of the leaders of the demonstration. “These militias were already calling us American agents to justify their attacks on us, and we fear they will use the assassination of Suleimani as a pretext to destroy our protest.”
Additional reporting by Hussein Akoush, Oliver Holmes and Quique Kierszenbaum