Australian Indigenous girl laid to rest after outback riots

Mourners gathered in Australia's Northern Territory capital Alice Springs on Saturday to bid farewell to a five-year-old ​Indigenous girl whose death in April shocked the nation ‌and sparked violent clashes in the outback town.

The killing of Kumanjayi Little Baby — the name by which the victim is known according to Indigenous custom — ​and the subsequent arrest of the suspect after he ​was found and beaten by locals, prompted unrest ⁠in the town of 25,000 people about 1,250 km (776 miles) ​south of territory capital Darwin.

On Saturday, mourners, many wearing Kumanjayi ​Little Baby's favourite colour pink, arrived on the outskirts of the town at its Garden Cemetery for her funeral service, Australian Broadcasting Corporation footage ​showed.

The little girl's coffin, covered in flowers, arrived in ​the back of a black hearse for the service, which local media ‌said ⁠was attended by hundreds.

Since her death, the local community, of which about a fifth is Indigenous, has been conducting "sorry business", the mourning period and cultural practices that occur after an Indigenous ​person dies.

Thousands ​of Indigenous people, ⁠including the victim's family, live in camp communities on the outskirts of Alice Springs, where ​housing and services are often inadequate.

Prime Minister Anthony ​Albanese, ⁠in the days after the killing, urged territory authorities to do more to ensure that living conditions in the camps are ⁠improved.

Jefferson ​Lewis, 47, has been charged with ​the girl's murder and two other offences, which cannot be publicly disclosed for ​legal reasons.

-Reuters