Four killed in family feud in Basra

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A family dispute led to the killing of four people and one more wounded on Tuesday in Basra.

“The problem started when the wife returned to her father’s house and was not willing to return to her spouse. Her spouse family stormed the house and a fight broke out between them,” Aziz Abadi, head of Basra police media and relations told Rudaw.

He noted that three people from the husband’s side and one from the wife’s were killed, with another person injured.

“Both families belong to the same tribe and are cousins,” Abadi said, adding that three people from the woman’s family have been arrested.

In early May, a man took his own life after killing his entire family, totaling 12 people, in Basra, allegedly due to financial difficulties.

Iraq reported about 17,000 complaints of domestic violence in 2022, according to AFP.

Despite pressure from the United Nations, the Anti-Domestic Violence law, presented by the Iraqi presidency to parliament in 2019, has yet to be adopted. A key provision of the proposed legislation includes the creation of shelters for victims of domestic violence.