Rome decries failed UK bid to rescue hostages in Nigeria

Home

Laos News.Net
Friday 9th March, 2012

ROME - Italy president Giorgio Napolitano Friday criticized the British government for failure to consult Rome before launching a botched rescue mission in Nigeria for an Italian and British hostage, who have since been killed.

Napolitano said it is "inexplicable" that British Prime Minister David Cameron failed to consult Italy before launching the mission to secure release of Briton Chris McManus and his Italian colleague Franco Lamolinara.

The two are suspected to have been killed by their captors Thursday during or before the joint British-Nigerian raid in north-west Nigeria.

McManus and Lamolinara were being held captive since May last year by Nigerian gunmen. They were abducted from Nigerian capital Abuja while working on a construction project of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

"The behaviour of the British government, which did not inform or consult with Italy on the operation that it was planning, really is inexplicable," Napolitano told reporters.

The Italian president has sought "a political and diplomatic clarification" from Britain.

In a televised news conference Thursday, Cameron confirmed that he had given the go-ahead to the attempted rescue mission by a special force comprising Nigerian troops and UK Special Boat Service (SBS) commandos, to try and rescue the pair on Thursday.

After months of trying to locate them, UK prime minister said they had zeroed in on the location and on being told the hostages were in 'imminent and growing danger' launched the rescue mission.

Paying tribute to the military and diplomatic personnel who worked in the rescue mission, Cameron said, "I am very sorry this ended so tragically. Terrorism and appalling crimes such as these are a scourge on our world."

Defending Britain's actions, the prime minister's spokesman clarified that both countries had been in contact ever since the men were first kidnapped. The government's Cobra emergency committee set up to monitor the rescue operations had met around 20 times to discuss the case.

"We contacted the Italians yesterday as the operation was getting under way, but this was a very fast-moving situation," the spokesman said. "Our priority was to respond to the situation on the ground and to do everything we could to try and secure the safe release of the hostages."

A senior British government official said that the kidnappers appeared to be from an Al Qaida-linked cell within Boko Haram rebel group.

Cameron has come in for criticism at home with Labour MP Meg Hillier, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on Nigera, stating: "I don't know how fast moving this was but it does seem odd that an ally like Italy was not actually kept informed."

Italian Premier Mario Monti, who was informed about the failed rescue attempt by Cameron after it had taken place, has asked Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan for a "detailed reconstruction" of what went wrong during the operation.

Italy's leading newspaper, Corriere della Sera, Friday ran a front page editorial saying the move by Britain was "an unacceptable slap" and a "humiliation" for Italy.

Some news agencies have meanwhile reported that some men have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the kidnappings.

Condemning the killings, Nigerian president said, "The perpetrators of the murderous act, who have all been arrested, (and will) be made to face the full wrath of the law."

?

Source: http://www.laosnews.net/story/204108489

frank miller 60 minutes oobleck justin timberlake marine corps ball frank gore injury frank gore injury makana