CAIRO: A US probe into the shooting of an Egyptian man by a US Navy chartered boat near the Suez Canal in March said Thursday that the ship’s arrival at the wrong time was a “significant factor in the killing.
Mohamed Afifi was killed on March 24 when the Global Patriot, a transport vessel chartered by the US Navy waiting to cross the Suez Canal, fired warning shots at a small boat trying to sell merchandise nearby.
“Basically the ship received conflicting information on when it was supposed to arrive in the Suez Canal, US Fifth Fleet spokesman Lieutenant Nathan Christensen told AFP by telephone.
“The Global Patriot’s arrival ahead of schedule was a significant contributing factor, he said, as a result of which it had to wait before entering the canal and was therefore approachable by hawkers’ boats.
“We would like to express our sincere apology and profound sorrow for this tragic accident and extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Mr Mohamed Afifi, the US Ambassador to Cairo Margaret Scobey said in a statement.
“We have offered financial assistance to the family, realizing of course that no amount of money could ever compensate his family for the loss of life, Scobey said.
The embassy and Fifth Fleet declined to say how much compensation had been paid.
The embassy statement said “we are reviewing our operating procedures as we cooperate closely with the government of Egypt to ensure that such an incident is not repeated.
Christensen declined to comment on any precise changes to operational procedures but said “I can assure you we’re going to ensure that all ships arrive at the prescribed time.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said at the time that the shooting was “unacceptable and that “Egyptian ports are not open to those who want to fire shots.
Christensen said US sailors “have the right and duty to protect the ship to avoid incidents such as the USS Cole, a warship aboard which 17 sailors were killed in a water-borne suicide attack off the Yemeni coast in 2000.
In March, both lower and upper houses of Egyptian parliament demanded an Egyptian, not American investigation in the incident.
Members of the Shoura Council demanded that the government begin the process of extraditing American troops who killed an Egyptian in the Suez Canal so as to be prosecuted in an Egyptian court.
Shoura Council members demanded an open trial for those responsible in Egyptian court and spurned US apologies over the incident.
Muslim Brotherhood MP from Suez Saad Eldin Khalifa told Daily News Egypt at the time, “When we raised this in the assembly we asked the government to detain the ship, but the ship left. The government said a military investigation is being conducted and we confirmed this.
“The bullets used by the Americans are banned worldwide and they removed eight pieces from Afifi’s body and there are more but until now we don’t know what’s going on, he added, “They exhumed his body only after our calls. We don’t know in which direction this investigation is continuing. Khalifa said, “Will they hold the Americans responsible? I doubt it. We are waiting to see the results of the investigation. We will not leave this man’s rights and Egyptian blood cannot be shed like this. -AFP, with additional reporting by Daily News Egypt.
