Amsterdam/Gori, Georgia - A Dutch cameraman for television
channel RTL was killed and his colleague wounded in a Russian
bombardment of the Georgian city of Gori, RTL confirmed Tuesday.
Cameraman Stan Storimans, 39, was fatally hit when the convoy he
was driving in was shelled by Russian mortar fire. Reporter Jeroen
Akkermans sustained leg wounds, as was their vehicle's Georgian
driver.
Akkermans condition was described as stable, according to Dutch
news reports. A Greek reporter in the vehicle was unharmed, according
to Georgian news reports.
Gori eyewitnesses recounted conflicting versions of the incident
to a Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa reporter, some saying Storiman's
vehicle had been hit by cannon fired by a ground attack aircraft, and
others reporting the journalist's vehicle had come under ground
machine gun fire as it drove through Gori's main town square.
Russian aircraft using rockets or bombs had been carrying out
periodic attacks on vehicles in the vicinity during the morning of
the attack. Most of the strikes took place shortly after dawn.
Almost all Russian aerial attacks in the Gori region had been
launched from aircraft flying at substantial altitude, and using
precision-guided weapons. The Russian air force appeared to be
concentrating on military targets, Gori residents said.
Dutch foreign affairs minister Maxime Verhagen summoned the
Russian ambassador in The Hague following the incident.
Dutch European Affairs minister Frans Timmermans has requested the
Georgian ambassador in The Hague for assistance to repatriate
Storiman's body and the injured Akkermans as soon as possible.
The Dutch government has formally condemnded what it called 'the
excessive use of violence' in Georgia by all parties.
A government spokesman said the Dutch support a 'political, not a
military solution' to the conflict about the Georgian break-away
province of South-Ossetia.
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