We are republishing an article from 13 November 2013 in which Panorama.it remembered the Nassirya massacre
«Ten, one hundred, one thousand Nasiriyah»this is one of the heaviest, if not the harshest, slogans in vogue a couple of years ago, shouted at the stadium or by far-left demonstrators when they marched in social protests.
Those aberrant words, full of hatred and ignorance, were often addressed to the group of police officers and carabinieri deployed on duty. Perverse, evil phrase shouted by unjust people towards people who, out of dedication, had chosen to go and help the Iraqis on a peacekeeping mission. An image is sometimes worth more than a thousand spoken and written words.
Here then is a series of exclusive photos of that cursed November 12th 2003 taken immediately after the explosion of theattack in Nasiriyahcity south of Iraq. Horrifying images of the devastation of innocent lives. An apocalypse. We decided not to show some photos due to the brutality and barbarity of the images and above all out of rigorous respect for the victims’ families.
It was 10:40 local time ten years ago, 08:40 in Italy, when a kamikaze tanker truck packed with 300 kilos of explosives exploded in front of the Italian Carabinieri MSU (Multinational Specialized Unit) base. He launches himself at breakneck speed against the base, forces the entrance gate and continues his crazy and inhuman race up to the three-storey building that housed the Italian logistics department. A very violent impact which causes a large part of the building to collapse, damages a second building where the command is based. The windows of the complex shatter. In the courtyard in front of the base many military vehicles catch fire. The magazine, the base’s ammunition depot, was also on fire. The loud explosions cause a carnage of wild shots in every direction.
In a matter of seconds, 28 people died, nineteen Italian soldiers and civilians, nine Iraqis and fifty-eight injured. The first aid was provided by the carabinieri themselves, by the new Iraqi police and by local civilians. The explosion also destroyed the offices of a building where an American NGO, the International Medical Corps, had its headquarters. Bangs and explosions everywhere. Smoke and death. A massacre. A carnage of human remains scattered everywhere. A black, acrid column of smoke in the sky. Lives amputated, dreams of life broken, children left orphaned. Pain and torment.
If anyone ever thinks of shouting “Ten, one hundred, one thousand Nasiriyah” again, in defiance of this apocalypse, let him take a good look at these photos, and then look in the mirror in search of his lost conscience.
