Rights watchdog deems Kut inferno ‘deliberate negligence’
Shafaq News – Wasit
The deadly fire at the Kut hypermarket is a “humanitarian catastrophe and a deliberate act of murder,” the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq stated on Friday, holding both local authorities and the building owner responsible for what it called “gross negligence.”
Fadel Al-Gharawi, the center’s head, said the official death toll stands at 69, with DNA testing still underway to identify charred bodies that remain unrecognizable. Dozens were also injured by smoke inhalation, and civil defense teams continue to search the rubble for additional victims.
Al-Gharawi emphasized that the tragedy began not with an electrical short circuit, but with the approval process itself—stating that construction and occupancy permits were issued without ensuring basic fire safety requirements. He alleged that the building may have been constructed entirely without official permits.
Iraq has witnessed a surge in fire-related disasters in recent years, with over 31,000 fires reported in 2022, more than 34,500 in 2023, and over 21,000 incidents recorded so far in 2024. The causes are varied: 60% from electrical faults, 25% from improper storage of flammable materials, 10% due to negligence, and 5% linked to criminal activity.
The report cited other major fires in recent history, including the 2023 Hamdaniya wedding hall blaze that killed more than 120 people, the 2021 fire at Al-Hussein Hospital in Dhi Qar which claimed over 92 lives, and the Ibn al-Khatib COVID-19 isolation center fire in Baghdad the same year, which left 82 dead.
Al-Gharawi stated that both the building owner and officials responsible for safety oversight share in the responsibility for this disaster, which he described as a form of “murder by gross negligence.”
The center urged Iraq’s public prosecutor to pursue legal action against all parties involved, and called on the government and parliament to pass a dedicated public safety law with binding standards for all public and private buildings, including strict penalties for violations.
The report also recommended forming a national task force to audit fire safety measures in buildings across the country within 90 days and to publish the findings in full to ensure transparency and accountability.
