http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1274&storyid=2767734
Rome
Shooting not justified: journo
From correspondents in Rome
March 6, 2005
FREED Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena has said the shooting by US troops in
Iraq that left her injured and an Italian intelligence officer dead was not
justified.
She spoke out after returning to Italy, when political leaders were awaiting
an explanation of the incident from US authorities.
The shooting happened on the road to Baghdad airport yesterday morning. Ms
Sgrena had been just freed by militants when the US soldiers fired on her
getaway car.
The 56-year-old correspondent for the communist daily Il Manifesto told
Italian investigators the US troops' intense fire had been in no way
justified by the speed of her car, the ANSA news agency said.
"Our vehicle was running at normal speed, which could not be misunderstood,"
she said, rejecting US fears of a possible suicide attack.
"It wasn't a checkpoint, but a patrol which immediately opened fire after
they trained their light on us."
A companion, who travelled with her from Baghdad, levelled serious
accusations at the US troops involved in the incident, saying the shooting
had been deliberate.
"The Americans and Italians knew about (her) car coming," said Pier Scolari
on leaving Italy's Celio hospital, where Ms Sgrena was treated for her
wounds.
"They were 700 metres from the airport, which means that they had passed all
checkpoints."
Ms Sgrena, her left shoulder in a bandage, flew into Rome on a government
plane and was immediately rushed to Celio military hospital, where she will
undergo surgery within the next few days.
She had been given emergency treatment in a US military hospital in Baghdad.
The US military said yesterday Ms Sgrena's convoy had ignored signals to
stop. A spokesman said soldiers had waved their hands and arms, flashed
white lights and fired warning shots in a failed attempt to get the vehicle
to stop.
US President George W. Bush has promised a full investigation into the
incident.
Meanwhile, about 100 protesters have gathered outside the US embassy in
Rome, calling for a US withdrawal from Iraq and Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi's resignation.
They carried a banner reading "Bush has changed: now he even kills
Italians".
AFP
|