Word: aidid
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...Aidid Ups the Bidding...
...battles have raged in the streets of Mogadishu almost daily since 23 Pakistani peacekeepers died in an ambush last month. Blaming Aidid, the U.S. has led U.N. forces in an aggressive bid to flush him out, culminating in a daylight attack on a meeting of Aidid's top commanders on Monday. At the end of a 20-min. barrage of missiles and cannon fire from U.S. helicopter gunships, dozens of bodies lay scattered around the demolished villa. When foreign journalists arrived to view the carnage, an enraged crowd turned on them with stones, guns and machetes, killing four...
...missiles responsible for the civilian casualties are almost entirely American. While the U.N. military forces are ostensibly led by Turkish General Cevik Bir, his staff is predominantly American and the real boss in Somalia is U.N. special representative Jonathan Howe, a retired U.S. Navy admiral. The determination to decapitate Aidid's faction is considered an American interpretation of the U.N. resolution calling for the capture of the Somalis responsible for the ambush of the Pakistanis. A total of 35 peacekeepers have died since May, none of them American. "The U.S. is quick to stir up trouble with air strikes," said...
...growing number of critics are suggesting that the U.N. has gone off course in hunting Aidid, damaging its credibility as a neutral peacemaker. Howe insists that the U.N. remains impartial. "We oppose no clan, subclan or party," he says. "We must, however, defend ourselves and the people of Somalia against terrorist attacks and take the necessary measures to prevent such attacks." Howe is supported by the Pakistanis and others, who agree that Aidid must be removed from the scene if national reconciliation is to be achieved. That determination is shared at the Pentagon, where Secretary of Defense Les Aspin says...
...officials in New York City have also dug in their heels, pointing out that the Security Council has twice authorized the use of any action necessary to protect U.N. forces and bring about stability. The Italians' proposal to pursue diplomatic negotiations with Aidid instead of military force was met with derision as a tactic that has already been tried, and failed...