Infant killed in stray rocket strike in western Libya

[David__77]

Source: Los Angeles Times


Damage to a house allegedly hit by a rocket in Gharyan, 60 miles southwest of Tripoli. Libyan officials said NATO airstrikes hit an ammo dump near the city. (Mohamed Messara, EPA / March 30, 2011)

...

There was instead a small group of women, some huddled in a ground floor sitting area, consoling each other as a cool gray drizzle fell on this mountaintop village. And there was a single, small plot of dirt in the local cemetery housing the remains of Sirajeddine Suessi, an 18-month-old infant killed early Tuesday morning by a stray Libyan rocket. Though it's not clear why the weapon exploded in the youngster's house, residents here speculate — and government officials claim — that it was set off by a Western-led airstrike on a government weapons depot several miles away.

...

International airstrikes hit at least one nearby base over the last several days, probably in an attempt to curtail Kadafi's ability to attack rebel-controlled areas to the west. One target, an opposition spokesman said, was a large mountainside ammunitions depot near Gharyan. Residents speculate that one of the rockets stored at the facility may have been set off, traveling across the mountain valleys and punching a whole through the residence of Najib Suessi, an employee at the local university.

The projectile, they said, ricocheted around the living room, eventually striking Suessi' sons, young Sirajeddine. He was not killed instantly, according to relatives, but taken to a hospital, where he died. A cellphone photograph showed the boy with a wound to the left side of his head. The impact alone could have killed him.

"It was so loud," said Nasser Suessi, a relative who lived next door. "As soon as I heard the sound I knew he would be dead. He was just too small."

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-civilian-20110331,0,2209940.story

[dipsydoodle]

1. Tragic

Well done NATO. :sarcasm:

[No Elephants]

2. Meh. Collateral damage. War happens.

:sarcasm:

[Hannah Bell]

3. can't be true, josh told me they target those bombs with special lasers.

lasers that can tell soldiers from civilians, especially babies.

[pampango]

4. "a stray Libyan rocket"

perhaps "set off by a Western-led airstrike on a government weapons depot several miles away" or perhaps the firing (or a misfiring) of a missile by Gaddafi forces "to attack rebel-controlled areas to the west".

"For several days, Libyan authoritative have sought to show the world civilian casualties caused by the international military effort intended to curb Kadafi's assault on citizens. Government spokespersons have claimed dozens of civilians have died in the Western-led offensive, though independent observers have been unable to confirm such figures."

"Most of the Libyan efforts to convince the world have failed. Some bodies displayed by authorities have been tagged with death dates that preceded the launch of Operation Odyssey Dawn.

Journalists have also been escorted to rallies at cemeteries without bodies and the homes of Kadafi supporters who gave wildly conflicting accounts of who died and how.

Now, it seems the most poignant civilian death spotlighted so far is one that took place on the eastern edge of one of the most anti-Kadafi regions in the country, the restive Western Mountains, where rebels control two cities, Zintan and Nalut, and half a dozen villages."

Got to give the Gaddafi PR guys credit. One of Libya's own rockets kills a little boy in "one of the most anti-Kadafi regions in the country", the PR guys claim it is NATO's fault. Either that or Gaddafi's forces actually would consider launching a rocket at a village in a hostile region where the opposition controls some of the territory.

[joshcryer]

7. It is a pretty good PR move, people in this very thread are buying it.

I'll remain highly skeptical of that one.

[thewiseguy]

10. Off course they are buying it. It does fit into their narrative that west is evil.

[Frisbee]

5. Another society we will teach to hate us. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

6. Will ?

Have taught more like it.

[Catherina]

8. Total criminal insanity. Rec'd n/t

[bluedeminredstate]

9. MSNBC this morning

Richard Engel reported that a lot of the rebels are joining up not knowing how to use their weapons. He told of one young man who was a student in Canada and has come home to help the rebels, but he didn't know how to use his rifle - couldn't operate the safety. He also reported on one group of rebels using a rocket launcher and they shot it off while it was aiming the wrong way. It ended up in a civilian area near a hotel where journalists stay. He said it was very disturbibg and frightening that these weapons are in the hands of people who aren't familiar with how to use them.
Anyway, just repeating what I heard this morning...

[Redford]

11. That is scary

I imagine if the US ever falls into the same chaos we will have lots of people without a clue on how to operate their firearms