Australian Defense Contractor Treats Iraq Deaths Differently

“Meeting with the two families is a priority for Unity. The process of investigation continues in conjunction with the Iraqi authorities.” - Unity Resources Group

Unity Resources Group contractor in Iraq Courtesy: magyarforum.hu

(BAGHDAD, Iraq) - As American defense contractor "Blackwater" struggles with accusations of random killings in Iraq, an Australian group involved in a similar situation shows a totally different approach in their handling of the problem.

The Australian security company "Unity Resources Group" fired on a car Tuesday carrying two Iraqi women, killing both. The team says it took fired the fatal shots because they thought the car may have been moving in for a suicide bombing attack.

At 1.40 PM on Tuesday, the Unity Resources Group security team of four vehicles was at a stop in Karrada, Baghdad, when they say they were approached at speed by a white car.

Unity points out that the area of Karrada has been subject to vehicle suicide bomber attacks in recent weeks.

The security team says they used what they call "graduated and escalated responses which included non-lethal means such as signage, strobes, hand signals and a signal flare fired in front of the vehicle in an effort to get it to stop."

They say the vehicle did not heed these warnings and failed to stop. "Fearing a suicide attack, only then did the team use their weapons in an attempt to disable the vehicle."

The group calls the incident in Karrada, Baghdad tragic, "We deeply regret the loss of these lives." They say they have been meeting and working with the Iraqi authorities to learn the designated next of kin for the two women who were killed.

Unity says they have learned the identities of the two, they were Marani Awanees and Ginivia Jalal.

“Since that time we have been working in conjunction with the Iraqi authorities and senior members of the community to establish contact with the next of kin,” said Unity Resources Group Chief Operating Officer, Michael Priddin.

The group issued these public statements directly to Salem-News.com, twice. Blackwater on the other hand, has not returned recent emails. Unity says they are committed to working with the families.

"To date we have spoken to the Awanees family and at their request have been asked to postpone any further discussions until the mourning period has passed, in accordance with local customs."

Then Unity ran into a roadblock of different sorts, in their efforts to learn who the affected families are.

"We have experienced difficulty in contacting the next of kin or relatives of Ginivia in Baghdad. We are continuing to pursue a number of avenues of contact with her family in Iraq."

Blackwater has been cited for a number of violations and one of those is killing Iraqi people without making mention of it. It has led to a public relations catastrophe among other more serious ramifications. This group certainly has at least what appears to be, a more humanitarian approach.

On the other hand, it seems highly unlikely that a car carrying a suicide bomb would be occupied by two females. It seems likely that identity of the vehicle's occupants may have been difficult depending on the circumstances and approaching speed. Either way, the company is on the record as being very regretful for the deaths of the two Iraqi women.

“Meeting with the two families is a priority for Unity. The process of investigation continues in conjunction with the Iraqi authorities.”