Gen. Aidid, self-proclaimed Somali president, dies
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08/02/96 - 11:18 AM ET - Click reload often for latest version
Gen. Aidid, self-proclaimed Somali president, dies
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Gen. Mohamed Farrah Aidid, the militia leader who
helped draw
Somalia into years of civil war, famine and virtual anarchy and whose
forces killed 18 U.S. soldiers
trying to hunt him down, has died.
Aidid, who effectively forced U.N. peacekeepers to withdraw from Somalia in
humiliation, died of
a heart attack Thursday, his militia said Friday. He reportedly had been
injured by a stray bullet last
week.
Thousands of weeping Somalis poured into the streets of south Mogadishu
Friday. The mourners
lined the street leading to the Al Rahma mosque, where services for the
61-year-old general were to
be held. His body was to be taken to a cemetery for Muslim burial.
The radio station of Aidid's militia, the Voice of the Somali People, said
the self-proclaimed Somali
president died of a heart attack "while performing his national duties."
A United Nations official in neighboring Kenya, speaking on the condition
that she not be further
identified, said Aidid was wounded July 24 in the Medina section of
southern Mogadishu and
probably received two gunshot wounds, one in the shoulder and one in the
liver.
On Tuesday night, the liver wound became infected, and doctors decided to
operate, she said. She
said it was unclear whether Aidid died during the operation, but that the
heart attack could have
been a result of it.
Aidid's radio station declared a 30-day mourning period and said flags in
south Mogadishu would
be flown at half-staff for seven days. It broadcast mourning music and
messages of condolence to
Aidid's family all morning.
Aidid is survived by his third wife, Khadija Said Gurhan, and 14 children.
The radio station said a four-member committee had been appointed to head
Aidid's Hawiye clan,
and that the committee would continue Aidid's policies.
The radio broadcast a statement, apparently from the new committee, calling
on the soldiers of the
National Army - a reference to Aidid's militiamen - to "remain watchful and
defend their rights."
The Voice of the Somali Republic radio, run by Aidid's archrival Ali Mahdi
Mohamed, reported
Aidid's death without elaboration.
Aidid emerged as a powerful force in Somalia after the overthrow of
President Mohamed Siad
Barre in January 1991.
During Siad Barre's increasingly brutal 21-year reign, the Italian-trained
general served in the army,
cabinet and as Somalia's ambassador to India. Siad Barre named him
intelligence chief, but came
to suspect Aidid of plotting against him and jailed him from 1969 to 1976.
As Siad Barre's rule weakened, Aidid turned on his boss.
Aidid's fighters drove the fallen leader from Mogadishu in January 1991.
Shortly after, two Hawiye
sub-clans - one led by Ali Mahdi and the other by Aidid - began quarreling
over the spoils.
The power struggle carved the country of 8 million people into a collection
of fiefdoms with no
central government. More than 350,000 Somalis died from the fighting and
famine.
Five hundred Pakistani U.N. peacekeeping troops were finally sent to
Mogadishu in September
1992, but by then Aidid felt strong enough to hem them in, useless, at the
airport. International
demands for action grew louder.
The first U.S. Marines went ashore at Mogadishu on Dec. 8, 1992. Joined by
troops from other
nations, Operation Restore Hope delivered food aid to famished corners of
southern Somalia. The
death count dropped, but the warring clans remained unreconciled. By
February 1993, thousands
of Somalis, incited by Aidid, were rioting against the foreigners.
The United Nations blamed Aidid for the June 5, 1993, ambushes that killed
24 Pakistani
peacekeepers and wounded 59, and issued a warrant for his arrest. While
Aidid repeatedly denied
responsibility, he accused the U.N. forces of favoring his rivals.
In October 1993, 18 U.S. soldiers and a reported 300 Somalis were killed in
fighting during an
American assault on an Aidid stronghold, prompting President Clinton to
speed up the withdrawal
of U.S. forces.
The United States withdrew in March 1994, and the final U.N. contingent
pulled out a year later.
Renewed fighting broke out this year as Aidid battled a coalition of other
factions for control of
southern Mogadishu. Hospitals and clinics in Mogadishu last week reported
more than 100 people
killed and another 400 wounded in the past month.
By The Associated Press
--
Salaama.
Wacays.