(Ynet News) Ron Ben-Yishai - A few minutes before the takeover attempt aboard the Mari Marmara got underway, the operation commander was told that 20 people were waiting on the deck where a helicopter was to deploy the first team of Navy commandos. Officials estimated that passengers will show slight resistance, and possibly minor violence. The first rope that soldiers used in order to descend down to the ship was wrested away by activists, most of them Turks. Navy commandos slid down to the vessel one by one, yet then the unexpected occurred: The passengers that awaited them on the deck pulled out bats, clubs, [knives] and slingshots with glass marbles, assaulting each soldier as he disembarked. The fighters were nabbed one by one and were beaten up badly, yet they attempted to fight back. However, to their misfortune, they were only equipped with paintball rifles used to disperse minor protests. One soldier who came to the aid of a comrade was captured by the rioters and sustained severe blows. The commandos were equipped with handguns but were told they should only use them in the face of life-threatening situations. When they came down from the chopper, they kept on shouting to each other "don't shoot, don't shoot," even though they sustained numerous blows. The Navy commandos were prepared to mostly encounter political activists seeking to hold a protest, rather than trained street fighters. The soldiers were told they were to verbally convince activists who offer resistance to give up, and only then use paintballs. They were permitted to use their handguns only under extreme circumstances. At one point, the attackers nabbed one commando, wrested away his handgun, and threw him down from the top deck to the lower deck, 30 feet below. The soldier sustained a serious head wound and lost consciousness. Only after this injury did troops ask for permission to use live fire. The commander approved it. The soldiers pulled out their handguns and started shooting at the rioters' legs, a move that ultimately neutralized them. Meanwhile, the rioters started to fire back. "I saw the tip of a rifle sticking out of the stairwell," one commando said. "He fired at us and we fired back. We didn't see if we hit him." It appears that the error in planning the operation was the estimate that the passengers were indeed political activists and members of humanitarian groups who seek a political provocation but would not resort to brutal violence.
2010-06-01 08:33:04Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive