Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq's parliamentary Security andDefense Committee on Thursday recommended dismissing the commander of the IraqiNavy over alleged failures to protect Iraqi fishermen following last week'sfatal shooting of a fisherman near the maritime border with Kuwait.
Committee member Mahmoud FalehAl-Sayyid said the decision followed a committee hearing with Navy CommanderLt. Gen. Mazin Kbayan and other security officials. He attributed therecommendation to proven negligence in the performance of duty and the alleged violationsthe fishermen were subjected to.
Last week, Kuwaiti authoritiesdetained an Iraqi fishing boat and its five-member crew near the maritimeborder. The fishermen were later returned through the Safwan border crossingalong with the slain fisherman's body and another fisherman who was wounded inthe incident.
The shooting prompted demonstrationsoutside the Kuwaiti consulate in Basra, where protesters demanded greaterprotection for Iraqi fishermen operating in the northern Gulf.
Iraq's Foreign Ministry previouslysaid it had raised the case with Kuwaiti authorities, who presented videofootage of the incident and maintained that their forces had not intended tocause loss of life.