June 09 2003 at 04:00PM
Quickwire
US forces outraged by Iraqi teen rape claim


Baghdad - An Iraqi newspaper run by Sunni Muslims traded charges on Monday with the United States-led occupation authority over the alleged rape of two Iraqi girls by US soldiers, a claim denied by the coalition.

According to the daily As-Saah, the girls, aged 14 and 15, were talking to American soldiers in Suwaira, 180km south of Baghdad, on Friday when the soldiers suggested they accompany them to their camp to take pictures but then collectively raped the pair.

This allegation is "absolutely false", the US Central Command said in a statement.

"We take any claim of this nature extremely seriously, have looked into the allegations and found nothing whatsoever to substantiate the accusations, including checking local hospital records," it said.
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'The As-Saah newspaper clearly and blatantly abused its recently attained freedom'
As-Saah said one of the girls died after she was raped by 18 soldiers while the other was killed by her family. Editor Naama Abderrazzak told AFP two of the daily's reporters had talked to residents of the area and seen the bodies of the two girls.

"After conducting a thorough investigation into this supposed account, we know this report is inaccurate, irresponsible, and purposefully attempts to damage the credibility of our forces and our efforts to create a secure and stable environment for the people of Iraq," Centcom said.

But Abderrazzak insisted he had asked his staff to thoroughly check the story and it was definitely true.

"Everyone in Suwairi is aware of this episode and it wouldn't take the Americans long to investigate it," he said.

The Centcom statement charged that As-Saah supported deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party when they were in power and said the newspaper's chairman, Ahmad al-Kubaissy, had "previously called for the unity of Shi'a and Sunni Muslims to confront the US presence".

'Let the coalition prove that our report is false'
As-Saah began publishing after the US-led coalition ousted Saddam on April 9, but its managing editor Adeeb Shaaban, who has been in US custody for 10 days, was an aide of Saddam's elder son Uday and head of the Iraqi Photographers Union.

"The As-Saah newspaper clearly and blatantly abused its recently attained freedom to report responsibly to the Iraqi people," the Centcom statement said.

"Furthermore, this report contradicts the efforts made by the budding Iraqi media establishment to provide honest, fair, and accurate journalism to the public."

It said coalition forces would "take every step necessary to correct this report and ensure the Iraqi media becomes a credible source of information for the public."

Abderrazzak said he had not been approached by the coalition and had learned of the denial only from the AFP reporter who interviewed him.

"Let the coalition prove that our report is false and I will fire the two journalists (who wrote it). So far, they haven't," he said. - Sapa-AFP



 
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