US army killed over 1,000 Somalis

Report, Times of India, 23 March 1998

LONDON: Trapped American special forces had indiscriminately fired on crowds of Somalis in Mogadishu in 1993 killing more than 1,000, five times the official numbers given.

American troops had abandoned their rules of engagement—to fire only when threatened by fire—and had shot down every Somali they saw including women and children, Observer has reported quoting what it called dramatic new account of the battle collated by American journalists from Somali survivors.

The damaging charges come as US President Bill Clinton begins a six-nation tour of Africa. The reports said that United Nations, under whose peace keeping auspices the Americans were operating in the country, had not been informed of the mission by US special forces to capture 25 top Somali warlords including the late Somali president General Mohd Farah Aided from central Mogadishu.

It said that prior sanction of United Nations military commander of the region, General Cevic Bir of Turkey, was not obtained in this connection.

Observer said the incident occurred on the October 3, 1993, afternoon, when 40 Delta special forces backed by 75 rangers set off to capture the Somali warlords, tipped to be meeting in a house in central Mogadishu. ``Contrary to US official version of the mission, American helicopter gunships began the ill-fated raid by firing anti-tank missiles into the house.”

Observer reported that American force commander Major General William F Garrison had decided in defiance of protocol that his troops would go it alone without informing the united nations command or even the UN special representative.

“In retrospect, it is possible to say that US forces declared their own personal war on Gen Aided,” it added.

The paper said at that time the news centred on dramatic footage of naked bodies of American soldiers being dragged through the streets and a helicopter pilot being taken hostage. The Somali dead then estimated at 200, were the sideshow.

The paper quoting accounts of American journalist Mark Bowden said the US special task force hit the house as 17 gunships rained missiles from above. The soldiers stormed the house taking 24 prisoners, then it began to go all wrong.

The Americans protected by gunships were supposed to drive three miles back to the base with their prisoners. However, without the backup force, the US special task force convoy ended up going in circles, trapped hundreds of Somali gunmen.

“The narrow streets then turned into scene of indiscriminate slaughter as the Somalis brought down two helicopters rained fire on US communications with their base and a spy plane charged with guiding them, broke down leaving the soldiers trapped and deserted,” Bowden said.

“It was then Americans abandoned their mission. They went berserk shooting at anything that moved,” he added.

The convoy was eventually rescued by Malaysian and Pakistani troops, who came to their aid as backup. The paper said till date the United States had never held any public investigation or reprimanded any of its commanders or troops involved.

Calling it as the biggest fire-fight the American troops were involved in since the Vietnam War, Observer said, ``US discipline and organisation had disintegrated.” (PTI)