- The Afghan Battle that Would Be Over in 24 Hours (March 7, 2002)
...in battle since 1993 when 18 soldiers were killed in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, a bloody, desperate incident, lodged in the wider US psyche, and featured... - Orgy of Violence as More Die in Iraq (April 1, 2004)
...alia, when a mob dragged the corpse of a US soldier through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation. ... - Pentagon Unleashes Holy Warrior (October 17, 2003)
...of Broken Arrow, Okla., and described a set of photographs he had taken of Mogadishu, Somalia, from an Army helicopter in 1993. The photographs were taken s... - Peacekeeping Office May Shut Down (March 11, 2002)
...a that had evolved into a manhunt turned suddenly bloody on the streets of Mogadishu. Two Army Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, 18 U.S. soldiers were kil... - Somali Ruler Says Country 'Terrorized' by US (January 11, 2002)
...ment was inaugurated in 2000, but still only controls parts of the capital Mogadishu and other patches of territory, competing with warlords who flourished aft... - 'Black Hawk Down' Reflects Army Values (January 16, 2002)
...me name by Mark Bowden, dramatizes a military operation that went wrong in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 and resulted in the deaths of 18 U.S. servicemen and more... - Mercenaries Flock to Fill Vacuum (April 2, 2004)
...ave been confronted with such appalling acts of barbarity before. Remember Mogadishu in 1993 - when Bill Clinton cut and ran from Somalia after the carnage tha... - Somalian Link Seen to Al Qaeda (February 25, 2002)
...pected link between Osama bin Laden and the killing of 18 U.S. soldiers in Mogadishu. Evidence of the Al Qaeda connection to the fighting in the Somalian c... - The War Before the Day After (March 6, 2003)
...of which brings us back to Baghdad. There is significant danger of a super-Mogadishu scenario, where raiding parties are trapped and forward bases are assaulte... - Iraqi Attacks May Change US Political Strategy (November 3, 2003)
... State Colin L. Powell, after the October 1993 "Black Hawk Down" battle in Mogadishu, Somalia, in which 18 U.S. soldiers died, is said by an aide to have remar... - Can We Kill Osama's Ideas? (January 1, 2002)
...lled in minor battles and one American pilot was dragged in the streets of Mogadishu, you left the area in disappointment, humiliation, and defeat, your dead w... - An Anti-War Movement of One (September 12, 2002)
...ntury fax addressed to "opinion leaders" assures us, Baghdad won't be like Mogadishu because this time we have "the will to win." Le Grand Charles, who knew... - The Struggles of Democracy and Empire (October 10, 2002)
...o cut and run, leaving ruin once more in America's wake. Baghdad is not Mogadishu. It will not be enough, as after the bombing of the Marine barracks in Bei... - Brand USA (March 10, 2002)
...a, despite the fact that you can watch CNN in Cairo and Black Hawk Down in Mogadishu, America still hasn't managed, in Beers' words, to "get out there and tell... - Marines Learn Urban Combat (August 21, 2002)
...angers sent to capture a hostile warlord got into a nightlong firefight in Mogadishu that killed 18 Americans, including one dragged afterward through the stre... -
Mogadishu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mogadishu is the capital city of Somalia, eastern Africa, on the Indian Ocean. In 2000, the population was estimated to be 1,219,000.
Mogadishu is the country's largest city, a seaport, and a commercial and financial center. Its principal industries are food and beverages, and textiles. The city is linked by road with Kenya and Ethiopia and has an international airport. Among its historic buildings are the Mosque of Fakr ad-Din (1269) and Garesa Palace, built in the late 19th century for the local administrator of the sultan of Zanzibar and now housing a museum and library. Mogadishu is the seat of the Somalia National University.
Mogadishu was settled by Arab colonists c.900, and by the early 12th century had become an important trade center for the east coast of Africa. It was visited by Zheng He's armada and came under the control of Portugal in the 16th century.
In 1871 the city was occupied by the sultan of Zanzibar, who leased it to the Italians in 1892. In 1905 Italy purchased the city and made it the capital of its colony of Italian Somaliland. Mogadishu was captured and occupied during World War II by British forces operating from Kenya. During Somalia's long civil war from the 1970s, rebel forces took the city in 1990. Intense battling between clan-based rebel factions damaged many parts of Mogadishu in 1991 and 1992. UN peacekeeping forces were stationed in the city between 1992 and 1995.
On October 3, 1993, an attempt by the United States Army to capture a major warlord failed badly. In the ensuing battle, Gary Gordon and Randall Shughart earned Medals of Honor. The events were later dramatised in the novel and film Black Hawk Down
Today Mogadishu continues to be one of the world's most dangerous cities (see Attacks on humanitarian workers), as clan and faction fighting rages unabated. The city is also the seat of the Transitional National Government, ostensibly an interim government for the entire nation of Somalia, but in reality the TNG has no influence outside the radius of a few blocks beyond its headquarters. Realizing their hopeless task, the TNG bureaucrats mainly concern themselves with embezzling international aid, and taking pay offs from local gangsters. While the rest of Somalia, particularly the northwest, is slowly pulling itself back together, Mogadishu seems perpetually mired in chaotic power struggles, with no end in sight.
See also: Battle of Mogadishu
A Mogadishu boy straddles the remains of a Black Hawk helicopter.