EGYPT: A killing and rage in the Suez
- Share via
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The killing of a man by a bullet to the chest has led to Egyptian outrage against the United States. Egyptian officials said Mohammed Fouad, a 27-year-old father of two, was shot by the crew of the Global Patriot, a transport ship under contract for the U.S. military, near the Suez Canal. Fouad sold cigarettes and candy to freighters and oil tankers from a small boat he shared with several other men.
He was sailing home Monday when the Global Patriot crew members fired warning shots to chase away Fouad’s craft. U.S. vessels have been on alert since the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen by two suicide bombers on a motorboat. The U.S. Navy is investigating Fouad’s death. A statement released by the American Embassy said: ‘It appears that an Egyptian in the boat was killed by one of the warning shots.’ (Read the L.A. Times story.)
Newspaper headlines and members of the Egyptian Parliament suggest the man’s death is a sign of American hubris and carelessness in the region. The government of President Hosni Mubarak receives about $2 billion a year in U.S. aid, but that money has bought little respect in a country that often feels manipulated by a greater power.
Al-Ahram newspaper reported that a number of parliament members criticized the Mubarak government for turning a blind eye to the tragedy so as not to embarrass an important ally. Yosri Mohammed, a writer for the independent Al-Dostour newspaper, criticized the government for ‘standing by the aggressor against the victim.’
Those who fired ‘the shots must be brought to justice,’ Abbas Abdel Aziz Abbas, a member of parliament’s Muslim Brotherhood faction, told the Daily News Egypt. ‘I realize the American ambassador made an official apology to the Egyptian people last night, but an apology is not enough. ... If this was an Egyptian ship in American waters that had shot and killed an American citizen, by mistake or otherwise, what would America do?’
The commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet, Vice Adm. Kevin J. Cosgriff, said: ‘We are greatly saddened by the events that apparently resulted in this accidental death. ... We will do our utmost to take care of the family of the deceased.’
— Jeffrey Fleishman in Cairo
