US retailers remove Confederate flag after Charleston incident

Washington

The Charleston church massacre has made multinational retailers, Walmart and Amazon, to pull out Confederate flag from their merchandise bearing the after the Charleston church massacre, in a growing movement against what critics say is a symbol of racism in the American South.

The retail giants were joined by eBay, Sears and Kmart and follows calls from South Carolina state governor Nikki Haley to remove the controversial flag from the grounds of the state capital following protests at the weekend. 

Civil rights activists have long pushed for the flag to be removed from official use and the debate has returned to the spotlight since last week's killings by suspected white supremacist gunman Dylan Roof, who appears in photos holding the confederate flag.

Walmart, the world's largest retailer and a staple in the South, said it would remove Confederate flag merchandise from its shelves as a matter of respect.

"We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer," Walmart spokesman Brian Nick said in a statement.

An Amazon company official confirmed to AFP it would remove Confederate flag paraphernalia from its site, but several related items remained in its online store Tuesday.