Karbala names street after Halabja over response to girl’s drowning

KARBALA — Karbala governorate has named one of its main streets after Halabja in recognition of the humanitarian response by residents of the Kurdistan Region governorate following the death of a Karbala girl who drowned at the Ahmad Awa tourist site.

In a statement Friday, the office of Karbala Governor Nassif Jassim al-Khattabi said the decision was taken “in appreciation of the humanitarian and national stance of the steadfast people of Halabja governorate alongside the people of Karbala,” directing that a main street in the center of Karbala be named Halabja Street.

The move follows the death of Ruqaya, a 12-year-old from Karbala who drowned after falling into the water at the Ahmad Awa resort area in Halabja’s Zalm Valley. Rescue teams, divers and volunteers recovered her body on June 17 after a search of more than a week.

The tragedy prompted a large public response across Halabja and the Sharazur and Hawraman areas. Although her body had been scheduled to travel directly to Karbala on June 18, residents of Khurmal asked that the funeral convoy first pass through their town to bid farewell to what many called their departed guest. Men, women and children lined the streets with flowers as the procession moved through Khurmal, and similar scenes followed in Said Sadiq. The body later arrived in Karbala accompanied by an official delegation from Halabja led by District Commissioner Sumko Salar and Civil Defense Director Brig. Abidin Abdulrahman, and Ruqaya was buried at Jannat Karbala Cemetery.

A day earlier, al-Khattabi announced plans to visit Halabja to thank Governor Nukhsha Nasih Ahmed and its people, saying their actions “embodied the highest meanings of brotherhood and national unity” and reflected “the authenticity of the Iraqi people and their deeply rooted humanitarian values.”