Italy pulls troops out of Iraq 3,000

SILVIO Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, yesterday appeared to bow to growing public pressure to pull his country’s forces out of Iraq, by announcing that a withdrawal would begin in September.

Italy has 3,000 troops in Iraq, the fourth largest contingent after the United States, Britain and South Korea and had set no limit on the length of time they would remain there.

However, Mr Berlusconi has faced increasing domestic pressure to reconsider his commitment to Iraq after the fatal shooting by US troops of the intelligence officer Nicola Calipari as he helped free the Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena from hostage-takers earlier this month. Demonstrations have been held calling for the troops, stationed mainly in the south of Iraq, to be brought home.

The withdrawal decision was announced by Mr Berlusconi - one of US president George Bush’s closest allies - during a pre-recorded television interview to be broadcast last night on a late-night chat show.

He said he had made his decision after consulting with his British counterpart, Tony Blair. "We will begin to reduce our contingent in Iraq before the end of the year - the first withdrawal will begin in September," Mr Berlusconi said.

"The question of troop withdrawal will depend on the capacity of the Iraqi government to adapt itself to an acceptable security structure.

"I have spoken with Tony Blair about this and it is the public opinion of our countries that expects this decision."

Yesterday’s announcement came hours after the parliament in Rome said it would extend funding to Italian troops deployed in Iraq on their mission, known as Operation Ancient Babylon, for a further six months.

Italian troops are mainly stationed around the city of Nasiriyah. In November 2003, 18 of them were killed after a suicide-bomb attack on their base. Ten other Italian soldiers have died in Iraq; the most recent being yesterday, when Salvatore Marracino, 28, was killed in a training accident.

In his interview, Mr Berlusconi also spoke of the death of Mr Calipari and said he had set a deadline of next month for a full report. Mr Calipari, 52, died when US soldiers at a checkpoint opened fire as he headed towards Baghdad airport in a car with Ms Sgrena. Mr Berlusconi said: "There was a serious mistake, and those responsible have to be traced. President Bush knows that he cannot delude one of his loyal allies."

In what could be viewed as a controversial remark, he said of Ms Sgrena’s original kidnapping by Iraqi militants: "The journalist was in a mosque for four hours, giving ample time for anyone to organise a kidnap and that is what happened."

Italy has been the scene of several anti-Iraq war protests. Before the war started, more than a million people marched through Rome, waving banners and flags protesting against the conflict, and since then there have been several other mass protests.

In Washington, Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said: "We certainly appreciate the contributions of the Italians."

Italian opposition criticised Mr Berlusconi for making such an important announcement on a talk show instead of in parliament, which was voting at virtually that hour to extend financing for the deployment.

Paolo Cento, of the Green party, said: "It’s grave that while in parliament we’re debating and voting on the renewal of the Italian military mission in Iraq, Premier Silvio Berlusconi, instead of coming to the chamber to make his declarations, declares that in September he intends to prepare the gradual withdrawal of the Italian soldiers from Iraq."

The announcement is the latest setback for the coalition. Ukraine is starting a pullout this week, while, earlier yesterday, the president of Bulgaria said his country should withdraw its 450 troops by the end of this year after a Bulgarian soldier was accidentally killed by US forces.

The Dutch government, defying pressure from Washington, has said it will pull its troops out of Iraq by next month, while Poland is looking to withdraw its forces by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Syria’s ambassador to the US said yesterday that Iraq may be spiralling toward a civil war "that will have a domino effect on the whole region" - and he urged the Bush administration to stop accusing his country of harbouring infiltrators.

Imad Moustapha said "we are really not allowing people to infiltrate" into Iraq and invited the US to help secure the border. He said his government had taken unprecedented steps to seal its border with Iraq and even the US had problems guarding its border with Mexico.

Mr Moustapha said his government "has been very sure to not allow anyone to act from inside Syria to create any violence in Iraq".

He said he knew that if Syria helped insurgents, "we will be put in direct confrontation with the US, which I don’t believe any country wants to be".

Outsiders were responsible for about 5 per cent of the anti-US attacks in Iraq, he said.