KoriEllis
09-27-2004, 06:46 PM
By IBRAHIM BARZAK
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Palestinian gunmen abducted a CNN producer on Monday, pulling him from a company van in Gaza City.
Riad Ali, a producer based at the network's Jerusalem bureau, was seized when two cars carrying gunmen pulled up to the CNN van on Gaza street, witnesses said.
CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman, who was also in the van with Ali, said the men asked specifically for Ali.
``These men were not very communicative, they just asked, 'Which one of you is Riad?' and that was it,'' he said in a CNN broadcast. ``There appearance was not unusual, they weren't dressed in any way different than your average Gazan of their age, which was somewhere in their early twenties. No indication whatsoever.''
Wedeman said the kidnaping was a surprise. ``We come to Gaza very often. Many people know us, and by and large we've always been able to operate here without too much trouble.'' Wedeman said he didn't know the motive for the abduction.
``In an environment that is usually hospitable, for men to come out of a car and basically put a gun in my face ... is something I've never experienced,'' he said.
In a statement, the network said, ``We have not heard from Ali's abductors but urge them to release Riad immediately.''
After the abduction, the Israeli military closed the main crossing from Israel into Gaza, used by Palestinians, diplomats and reporters, ``following security assessments and security alerts.'' The military would not say if the decision was tied to the kidnapping.
In recent months, there have been several kidnappings in the West Bank and Gaza as the authority of Yasser Arafat's police wanes. Up to now, however, foreign correspondents and their crews have rarely been bothered by Palestinian militants.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Palestinian gunmen abducted a CNN producer on Monday, pulling him from a company van in Gaza City.
Riad Ali, a producer based at the network's Jerusalem bureau, was seized when two cars carrying gunmen pulled up to the CNN van on Gaza street, witnesses said.
CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman, who was also in the van with Ali, said the men asked specifically for Ali.
``These men were not very communicative, they just asked, 'Which one of you is Riad?' and that was it,'' he said in a CNN broadcast. ``There appearance was not unusual, they weren't dressed in any way different than your average Gazan of their age, which was somewhere in their early twenties. No indication whatsoever.''
Wedeman said the kidnaping was a surprise. ``We come to Gaza very often. Many people know us, and by and large we've always been able to operate here without too much trouble.'' Wedeman said he didn't know the motive for the abduction.
``In an environment that is usually hospitable, for men to come out of a car and basically put a gun in my face ... is something I've never experienced,'' he said.
In a statement, the network said, ``We have not heard from Ali's abductors but urge them to release Riad immediately.''
After the abduction, the Israeli military closed the main crossing from Israel into Gaza, used by Palestinians, diplomats and reporters, ``following security assessments and security alerts.'' The military would not say if the decision was tied to the kidnapping.
In recent months, there have been several kidnappings in the West Bank and Gaza as the authority of Yasser Arafat's police wanes. Up to now, however, foreign correspondents and their crews have rarely been bothered by Palestinian militants.