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Two US sailors indicted for Okinawa rape

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Protesters display "No fly zone" flags featuring US MV-22 Osprey aircraft, during their protest rally against US military bases in Okinawa on October 24. Photo: AFP

Two US servicemen were indicted on Tuesday on charges of raping a Japanese woman in Okinawa, news reports said, in a case that has fanned the flames of anti-Americanism on the island.

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Okinawa prosecutors charged Christopher Browning and Skyler Dozierwalker, both 23, with raping and injuring the woman last month, Jiji Press said.

Browning is also facing charges of robbing her of money, Jiji said.

The two US sailors, who were reportedly visiting the island from their base on the Japanese mainland, have admitted the rape during questioning, the agency said.

Immediate confirmation of the reports was not available.

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The two servicemen allegedly approached the woman before dawn on October 16 on the street in central Okinawa and sexually assaulted her, local media reported, adding the woman suffered neck injuries during the incident.

The case prompted an outcry in Okinawa, the reluctant host to more than half of the 47,000 military personnel Washington has in Japan, and left commanders scrambling to contain the fallout.

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