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Riot victim's father's peace call

The father of a man killed trying to defend his community in riots in Birmingham has called for peace in the UK city.

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2 min read

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By staff

Source: AFP, SBS


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The father of a man killed trying to defend his community in riots in Birmingham has called for peace in the UK city.

A murder inquiry is underway by Police after three men were knocked down in a hit and run by a car during riots in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

A vigil for Haroon Jahan, 21, Shahzad Ali, 30 and 31-year-old Abdul Musavir was held in Birmingham as his family took to the street to call for an end to the violence.

Holding a picture of his dead son Haroon, Tariq Jahan said: “Anything I ever wanted done I would always ask Haroon to do it for me. Not my eldest or my daughter – my youngest. And they killed him.”

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Police are worried the incident will trigger more violence particularly along racial lines.

Around 200 people gathered to pay tribute to the three men who were mown down during Tuesday night's violence.

Harpreet Singh, 28, who helped to organise the vigil, told the BBC: "Let this be a message to other communities, not just Muslims and Sikhs, let's stand together, let's hold candlelight vigils.

"People have been hurt, families have been hurt, if we don't stop this, and the people who are rioting do not stop this, there will be more people dying. It has to stop and we are standing here united."

Bolstered police forces on Wednesday maintained calm in the worst-hit cities while courts remained open through the night to deal with hundreds of suspected rioters and looters.

AFP reported an uneasy peace prevailed in Birmingham where three Asian men were hit and killed by a car while defending their community from looters on Tuesday.


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