Wounded Libyan soldiers to be treated at Salem facility

SALEM – Officials at Spaulding Hospital North Shore and the State Department confirmed that 24 “seriously wounded fighters” from Libya will arrive at Logan Airport this afternoon and then travel to the Salem hospital for treatment.”There are 24 seriously wounded fighters, at this point we are not able to confirm what side they were on,” Timothy Sullivan, communications director for The Spaulding Rehabilitation Network & Partners Continuing Care, said Friday afternoon. “A media event will occur (today) at Logan to get any photos or interviews with the State Dept. people. There won’t be any interviews with patients and we won’t allow any media on site at the hospital. A whole host of state and federal agencies are being coordinated ? and I am sure that they are aware” it is Halloween weekend.According to a statement from the State Department, the treatment is at the request of the Transitional National Council. The council has been recognized as the country’s interim leadership established in March when rebel fighters with the backing of NATO troops ousted the country’s dictator Moammar Gadhafi.”The United States offers this humanitarian gesture of emergency medical evacuation assistance as a token of our support for the Democratic aspirations of the Libyan people and our hope for a continued strong partnership as they build a new Libya,” according to a statement from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.The patients are scheduled to arrive at Logan at 3:30 p.m. then travel by ambulance to Salem, Sullivan said. Sullivan said that the hospital has notified staff and asked them to treat the patients’ confidentiality and direct all media inquiries to the communications office.”We’ve had no specific concerns about safety,” Sullivan said. “In general, our staff are always up for any challenge and are infinitely capable. If this does move forward, I think that they are excited to help in a serious humanitarian effort.”The news of the soldiers’ arrival surprised Lt. Mary Butler of the Salem Police on Friday afternoon. Butler, the officer on duty at the time, said that she had not been told of the soldiers’ arrival, but that any police aid would depend on whether the soldiers were in custody of the state or not.Salem resident Roger Leger said he will be one of those looking to see the visitors. Leger’s niece, Nicole Boulanger, was one of 270 people killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. She was 21 at the time. Her birthday was Friday, the day the news broke.”I will try to be there when they get there to find out who they are, and if they are the anti-Gadhafi fighters, then I will go and shake their hands,” said Leger, president of the city’s Veterans Council. I can’t fathom that they would take pro-Gadhafi soldiers to Salem.”Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll and members of her staff could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. The city’s congressional and state representatives could not be reached for comment by deadline.Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].