2008 Woodie Awards
Egyptian 'killed' by military guards
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 3/26/08 Section: World
SUEZ, Egypt - Dozens of angry mourners buried an Egyptian man yesterday who they said was killed by shots fired from an American cargo ship contracted to the U.S. Navy as it passed through the Suez Canal.
U.S. officials said American military guards aboard the ship only fired warning shots toward approaching motorboats Monday night and said they had received no report of anyone being killed.
The incident occurred when the merchant ship Global Patriot entered the canal from the Red Sea and was approached by small motorboats that ply the waterway selling goods to passing ships, according to both Egyptian and U.S. accounts of the incident.
The Navy has been leery of small boats getting near its warships since al-Qaida suicide attackers rammed an explosives-packed motorboat into the USS Cole off Yemen, killing 17 sailors in 2000.
Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, spokeswoman for the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet, said cargo ships sailing under contract to the Navy follow the same rules of engagement as American warships in dealing with approaching boats.
"The boats were hailed and warned by a native Arabic speaker using a bullhorn to warn them to turn away. A warning flare was then fired," the U.S. Embassy in Cairo said in a statement.
U.S. officials said American military guards aboard the ship only fired warning shots toward approaching motorboats Monday night and said they had received no report of anyone being killed.
The incident occurred when the merchant ship Global Patriot entered the canal from the Red Sea and was approached by small motorboats that ply the waterway selling goods to passing ships, according to both Egyptian and U.S. accounts of the incident.
The Navy has been leery of small boats getting near its warships since al-Qaida suicide attackers rammed an explosives-packed motorboat into the USS Cole off Yemen, killing 17 sailors in 2000.
Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, spokeswoman for the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet, said cargo ships sailing under contract to the Navy follow the same rules of engagement as American warships in dealing with approaching boats.
"The boats were hailed and warned by a native Arabic speaker using a bullhorn to warn them to turn away. A warning flare was then fired," the U.S. Embassy in Cairo said in a statement.
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