In this issue: * AIDEED'S PLAN BACKFIRES * PAKISTAN: WE'RE STAYING * AFEWERKI: DO NOT PULL OUT ____________________________________________________________________ S O M A L I A N E W S U P D A T E ____________________________________________________________________ Vol 2, No 27 October 5, 1993. ISSN 1103-1999 ____________________________________________________________________ Somalia News Update is published irregularly via electronic mail and fax. Questions can be directed to Bernhard.Helander@antro.uu.se or to fax number +46-18-151160. All SNU marked material is free to quote as long as the source is clearly stated. ____________________________________________________________________ AIDEED'S PLAN BACKFIRES (SNU, Uppsala, October 5) After the bloodiest battle yet for U.N. forces in Mogadishu, fugitive warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid made a rare radio broacast telling Somalis to "do everything in their power to defend themselves." With just a few days to go before the US troops' presence in Somalia can be terminated by the Congress, it is clear that Aideed has carefully timed the current increase of armed clashes with the UN peace-keepers to boost the anti-military feelings in the US. The last few days' of fighting has clearly shown that the turmoil in souhtern Mogadishu has nothing to do with a spontaneous popular uprising, but that it is meticulously orchestrated by a man whose sole ambition is to become the president of Somalia. Italian state television reported that Aidid claimed 300 Somalis were killed and 500 wounded in the latest U.N. offensive against his compound in the Somali capital. The United Nations, meanwhile, sought the safe return of an American helicopter pilot and a Nigerian peacekeeper captured by Somali militiamen and implored them to treat the captives humanely. Other Americans were also feared captured. At least 12 U.S. Army soldiers were killed, 78 wounded and six reported missing in Somalia after the latest round of fighting with forces loyal to Aidid. Concerns for the safety of the captured U.S. pilot and the six missing Americans were heightened by photos and film that showed the brutal display of the body of a U.S. serviceman in Mogadishu on Monday. A week ago Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali warned the United States that a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Somalia would destroy the U.N. peacekeeping operation there. In a letter delivered last Monday to U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Boutros- Ghali also said a Security Council resolution, initiated by the US, obliged him to continue to try to bring to justice Somalian warlord General Mohammed Farah Aideed. President Bill Clinton last week called for an exit date for American troops to leave Somalia.Clinton openly urged the United Nations to make a greater effort to rebuild Somalia's shattered social structures saying U.S. peacekeeping forces were not sent there "to run the country." However, today Tuesday it seems that Aideed's plan to scare the Americans away might have backfired. Secretary of State Warren Christopher said that with the attacks on U.N. forces over the weekend and American personnel missing, "it certainly is not the time for us to depart." Christopher, who was to join Defense Secretary Les Aspin later Tuesday to brief lawmakers, said the United States wants to withdraw its forces when possible, "but not before our job is done of providing some security. At the same time, it is vital that a political solution be sought there." The fatal operation of the past two days led to the capture of two of Aidid's top aides. In hindsight, deLaski said, "that's not worth the cost on that particular day, but obviously we didn't know that going in." Clinton's decision to send in reinforcements won an influential endorsement Tuesday in Congress, but many other lawmakers joined the chorus urging the president to order American forces home. Meanwhile, the Pentagon said the total number of U.S. soldiers being sent to Somalia would be about 650. That includes 200 replacement troops, a mechanized infantry company of at least 200 men, and the remainder made up crews for the helicopters and AC-130 gunships and support personnel. The AC-130s will be brought in from Brindisi, Italy, Pentagon officials said. They said two flights of reinforcements had left their base in Georgia Tuesday and more would be leaving throughout the day. The current U.N. force is 28,000 from 33 countries, including 4,700 Americans. "It is a very modest deployment. It's not a significant increase. This is not a policy statement; this is an immediate response to help our people," Pentagon spokeswoman Kathleen deLaski said today at a news briefing. White House spokeswoman Dee Dee Myers said, "Our position is we don't want to see that country descend back into the kind of chaos that caused literally hundreds of thousands of people to starve to death. "We will continue to try to reinforce our troops there on the ground to make sure that they're safe while we continue to create an environment where humanitarian assistance can continue to be delivered," she said. PAKISTAN: WE'RE STAYING (Islamabad, Oct 5, DPA) - Pakistan is not thinking of altering its peacekeeping role in Somalia following the recent attacks on the United Nations forces there, Foreign Secretary Shahryar Khan said in Islamabad Tuesday. "We remain faithful to the U.N.-assigned task of bringing peace to Somalia," Khan said while commenting on demands in the United States on ending the U.S. military presence. Khan said Pakistan had not been conveyed "any change of direction" in the U.S. position on hunting down Somali rebel leader General Farah Aidid whose forces have killed many U.N. troops in recent weeks. Despite losing 33 Pakistani U.N. soldiers in operations against Aidid, the Islamabad government "will remain consistent to its specific role of peacekeeping" in Somalia, he said. "Our assessment is that most of Somalia is peaceful and people are extremely cooperative with the U.N. forces. Only in areas in and around Mogadishu under the influence of Aidid clan, there is tension and violence. "Even there U.N. effort is beginning to control the situation," Khan said. AFEWERKI: DO NOT PULL OUT (SNU, Uppsala, October 5) President Isaias Afewerki of the Republic of Eritrea said today told reporters that it would be a serious mistake for the United States to pull its troops out of Somalia now. Afewerki, speaking in Washington D.C. at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said serious mistakes had been made in the past, including turning over command and control to the United Nations. The U.N., he said, had neither the capability nor the command structure to run the operations in Somalia. The United States turned control of the Somalia operations to the United Nations in May. Another mistake, he said, was to focus the international forces on trying to capture the Somali warlord, Mohammad Farah Aideed. Afewerki said that Aidid is the leader of a clan who is respected and obeyed by his people. If he were to be captured, he would be replaced by another clan leader and the problems would continue, Afewerki said. Trying to capture and shut down Aidid's radio station in Mogadishu was another mistake, Afewerki said, leading Aidid's armed clan to attack U.N. forces in June, killing 25 Pakistani soldiers. ____________________________________________________________________ SNU is an entirely independent newsletter devoted to critical analysis of the political and humanitarian developments in Somalia and Somaliland. SNU is edited and published by Dr. Bernhard Helander, Uppsala, Sweden. ____________________________________________________________________