An amateur video appears to show Libyans trying to rescue US
ambassador Christopher Stevens from a room filled with smoke at the US
mission where he was found unconscious after last week's attack by a mob
protesting against a film that denigrates the Prophet Mohammad.
The video, which appeared on the internet and a copy of which was
obtained by Reuters in Benghazi, confirms reports that suggested the US
envoy died of asphyxiation after the building caught fire.
The footage also sheds new light on the circumstances of the
ambassador's death, apparently showing for the first time that some of
the people who forced their way into the US compound later tried to
rescue Stevens after they found him lying alone, with no security
detail, in one of the rooms in the building.
The video shows a group of young men who had earlier stormed the
compound telling other protesters by the light of torches and mobile
phones that they had found someone who appeared to be a foreigner lying
on the floor.
"There is someone inside ... He is a foreigner, he is a foreigner. Take him out," said one man, shouting for help.
"Bring him out, man! Bring him out," another said.
"The man is alive. Bring him out, man. Bring him out," said a third.
"Alive, Alive! God is Greatest," the crowd cried. Someone called for a car.
"Make space, is there someone who is a medic around? Anyone who can get a car quickly?" another man can be heard saying.
Stevens and three other embassy staff died when gunmen attacked
the US consulate and a safe house in the eastern Libyan city on Tuesday
night. The attackers were part of a crowd blaming America for a film
they said insulted the Prophet Mohammad.
Security personnel abandoned Stevens during the attack,
US officials said, in the chaos of smoke and gunfire that ensued.
The footage shows Stevens lying on the floor in a smoke-filled
room after protesters had stormed the compound and set fire to its
buildings.
Minutes later he was pulled out of the room through a window, and
then placed on the courtyard's stone tile floor. A young man is seen
putting his hand on his neck to check if he was breathing.
A protester wearing a white T-shirt who had carried Stevens out
of the room was hugged by a fellow protestor in a traditional expression
of gratitude.
Seconds after the protesters found Stevens was alive, a young man
in the background can be heard shouting: "Take him to my car, bring him
to my car."
A doctor on duty in the emergency room at the Benghazi Medical
Centre that night has said local civilians brought in the ambassador at
around 1 a.m. While the doctor performed CPR for 45 minutes, Stevens
died of asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation. His body was later
returned to US custody.
"On his own"
Fahd Al-Bakoush, a young activist who took the video, said he saw
the ambassador "moving his lips and his eyes moving and his body
darkened by smoke."
Bakoush told Reuters the storming of the embassy happened shortly
after several armed Libyan guards at the entrance refused protesters'
demands to enter the compound and take down the US flag.
He said the violence began after shots fired from the compound to
scare demonstrators provoked angry protesters outside, prompting
hardline elements within the protesters to throw home made grenades and
fire RPGs.
Bakoush said he only realised the next day that it was the
ambassador who had been found and was surprised that he was left on his
own in the villa with none of his aides.
"I did not expect the ambassador to be on his own and I had thought the ambassador had been the first to escape," he said.
A spokesman for President Barack Obama said last week that
officials had no evidence the attack was pre-planned, an assertion which
has added to confusion over the incident. Immediately after the attack,
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, were widely quoted as
saying they believed the attack was well-planned and organised.
A report in IBN-Live Here and
Here
Harvinder Singh, a resident of Rohini in the capital, slapped the Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in full glare of TV cameras on Thursday.
Anna Hazare, self-confessed arch rival of Pawar, was quick to respond to the incident. Initially with swagger Anna said, "Just one slap?";
A report in IBN LIVE. Here
Ek hi maara? : Anna Hazara on slap on Sharad Pawar
After committing a faux-pas in his reaction to the attack on Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Anna Hazare said tonight that he was ready to apologise if his remark was perceived to be "wrong".
"He got slapped! Only one slap?" Hazare had said to a group of journalists at Ralegan Siddhi when he learnt about the attack on Thursday. But later he condemned the attack.
Explaining what he meant by his remark, Hazare, talking to a Marathi news-channel, was at pains to explain the faux pas saying "I was addressing a daily gathering of people when someone sent me a note informing about the attack. I wanted to know whether it was just a slap or there was some other kind of violence."
The social activist said he did not say or mean anything inappropriate when he said "ek hi mara?". He always believed in non-violent method of agitation, Hazare said.
"However, if it is perceived that I have said something wrong, I am ready to apologise," he said.
A report in DNA. Here.
“He got slapped! Only one slap?”: Anna Hazare
Anna Hazare on Thursday tied himself in knots with his reaction to the attack on Sharad Pawar first appearing to respond with contempt and later condemning it.
“He got slapped! Only one slap?” he said to a group of journalists who broke out in laughter at his reaction.
A report in The Hindu. Here
