TWO ITALIAN AID WORKERS ABDUCTED, UNUSUAL METHOD

Two Italian aid workers, Simona Toretta and Simona Pari, have been abducted together with two (maybe three) Iraqi citizens who were with them at the time, with a method very different to the one used in all earlier kidnappings in Iraq.

Early reports suggest that a group of gunmen arrived at the headquarters of ’A bridge for’, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) for which the two women are working, on board three pick-up trucks. The commando entered the offices and took Torretta and Pari away together with two Iraqis. Some sources report that a third Iraqi managed to escape, while others say he was also abducted. According to the Arabic satellite television station ’Al Jazeerà, the gunmen presented themselves at the entrance to the building saying that they were working for the provisional Iraqi government. ’A bridge for’ shares the premises in the centre of the Iraqi capital with another Italian NGO, Intersos, with which at least one of the Iraqi abductees had links. The building was hit by a grenade on 3 September; on the same occasion, another unexploded device was found near the nearby Ibn al-haithem.

The blast caused only slight damage and the director of Intersos, Rosita Viola, said at the time: “We have been in Iraq for a long time and we have seen difficult moments, but we have never received threats or signals to suggest that we are unwanted by the people with whom we work.” Members of the Torretta family have said that they spoke to Simona concerning the grenade attack just today. ’A bridge for’ is a voluntary association that was created in 1991, just after the end of the bombing of Iraq, with the aim of “promoting initiatives in favour of the Iraqi population, affected by the war and in opposition to the long-running embargo on the country”.

The aim of the organisation, which also operates in Belgrade, Chatila and Diyarbakir, is “to counter the domination by countries in the North of those in the South an the prevention of new conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, through awareness raising campaigns, the promotion of cultural exchanges, friendship and development co-operation. INTERSOS is a not-for-profit, independent humanitarian organisation that operates in favour of endangered peoples, the victims of armed conflict or natural disasters. Formed in 1992 with the backing of the trades union confederations, it carries out emergency relief operations and then works to guarantee normal conditions for the civilian population. [LC]