Student's slaying inflames ethnic tensions at Baghdad University

[Barrett808]

Student's slaying inflames ethnic tensions at Baghdad University
BY MOHAMMED AL DULAIMY AND HANNAH ALLAM
Knight Ridder Newspapers

BAGHDAD, Iraq - (KRT) - Masar Sarhan, a popular student leader at Baghdad University, threw a party on campus this week to celebrate the Shiite Muslim leaders of Iraq's new government. Religious songs blared and students read poetry congratulating the Shiites for taking power.

Four hours later, three gunmen followed 24-year-old Sarhan and shot him to death blocks from his home in the capital.

The campus, already simmering with sectarian tension, exploded with violent demonstrations that continued on Wednesday. Enraged Shiite students stormed the cafeteria, overturning tables and breaking windows. They accused Sunni students and professors of supporting Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, which they blamed for Sarhan's death. Police fired shots in the air to stop the riots. The dean fled the campus and classes were canceled indefinitely.

"It wasn't a demonstration - it was a riot," said Lina Majed, 22, a Russian studies student who was in the cafeteria during the violence. "I won't come back to college until everything settles down. This is scary."

Sarhan's murder was a disaster for Baghdad University officials who'd been trying to quell sectarian problems among students since the January elections. Shiites and Kurds dominate Iraq's first elected government. Sunni Arabs mostly boycotted the vote or stayed away out of fear of attack from Iraq's Sunni insurgency.

Fights have since erupted on campus when Shiites assert their identity through religious posters. Sunnis, meanwhile, are sick of being labeled Baathists and insurgent sympathizers.

"Our Sunni brothers think they lost the battle, so they are trying to rip away the joy of the Shiites," said Alaa Mahmoud, 23, a geography student involved in the protest. "In the old days, we feared Sunnis because they were Baathists. Now, we fear them because they might be terrorists."

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