Shooting mystery tarnishes German anti-terrorist squad: 'Successful' raid may force further senior government resignations

CRITICISM of the German elite anti-terrorist unit continued unabated yesterday after the resignation on Sunday of the Interior Minister, Rudolf Seiters, and the publication of an official statement which answered none of the key questions raised.

Mr Seiters' resignation followed the shoot-out 10 days ago in which a wanted terrorist and a member of the GSG-9 anti-terrorist group died.

There have been persistent reports that Wolfgang Grams, wanted as a member of the Red Army Faction, was executed at close range when already wounded on the ground, and that Michael Newrzella, the member of GSG-9 who died of his wounds, may have been shot by his own colleagues. Yesterday's official statement, which was expected to answer these questions, said that it was not clear from what distance Grams had been shot.

The statement also said that, apart from one shot fired by Grams, it had not been possible to determine whether Newrzella's injuries were caused by Grams or by others.

The operation was originally described as a success because of the arrest of Birgit Hogefeld, Grams's girlfriend, who was high on the official wanted list. But the questions raised about a possible shoot-to-kill policy have soured the success.

Mr Seiters' resignation may not be the last. There were renewed demands yesterday that Alexander von Stahl, the federal prosecutor, should be forced to go. Even the government spokesman, Dieter Vogel, yesterday complained that the information given had been 'partly contradictory and incomprehensible'. The German parliament will hold a special session next week to discuss the events.

Mr Seiters was replaced as Interior Minister yesterday by Manfred Kanther, leader of the Christian Democrats in the region of Hesse. Mr Kanther is seen as conservative on law and order.

On the circumstances of the deaths on 27 June at the small railway station of Bad Kleinen, in north-eastern Germany, all sides still seemed keen to blame one another yesterday. The Federal Bureau of Criminal Investigation, answerable to the Interior Ministry and run by a Christian Democrat, argued that the Federal Prosecutor's office, answerable to the Justice Ministry and run by a Free Democrat, had been involved in 'all stages' of preparing the action. The Federal Prosecutor's office said that all practical details had been left to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Mr Seiters, who is praised for his honesty, may have been politically wise to resign before much mud stuck to him. His prompt action was praised by Christian Democrats and opposition Social Democrats alike, for the 'respect' it deserved.

The killings at Bad Kleinen have tarnished the reputation of the GSG-9 group,responsible for the successful storming of a hijacked Lufthansa plane at Mogadishu in 1977. That image now seems likely to have been irreparably damaged.