Overview: Military Operations in Somalia

Thanks to Dr. Richard W. Stewart, Chief of Histories Division, U.S. Army Center of Military History, and his booklet "The United States Army in Somalia: 1992-1994" from which the material fro this summary was drawn.


In 1992 Somalia had entered a period of clan violence following the breakdown of its central government. Regional warlords led the country into sectarian and ethnic warfare and economic chaos. The situation led to a struggle over food supplies with each clan raiding the storage depots of the other clans. A regional drought made the situation worse, bringing famine to hundreds of thousands of Somalia’s poor. Independent relief organizations were unable to provide the security necessary to operate refugee camps and distribute food – they were forced to pay protection money to the warlords – and even then the warlords stole the supplies and food to enhance their own positions and power.

In April, 1992 the United Nations authorized humanitarian relief operations and deployed a small peace-keeping force to provide protection for the distribution of food. The effort was limited, and soon the situation returned to it’s earlier status with warlords supplying the “protection” in the form of “technicals” in pick-up trucks and land rovers armed with automatic weapons and RPG rockets, while they continued to steal much of the food and material for themselves.

The United States, under president George Bush, launched Operation Provide Relief, providing Special Forces soldiers from the 5^th Special Forces Group (Airborne) to accompany relief flights from nearby Kenya into rural Somalia.

In December, 1992, the effort was expanded in an effort to stave off widespread starvation of the population. Operation Restore Hope began, and the 1^st Marine Expeditionary Force was deployed on 9 December directly into the capital city of Mogadishu. The “technicals” were relocated out of the city and an effort began to confiscate the large supply of weapons available in the city.

The U.S. Army component of the force was Task Force Mountain consisting of the 2^nd Brigade, 10^th Mountain Division, with approximately 10,000 soldiers including two infantry battalions, an aviation brigade, and division artillery and support personnel. Coalition forces included components from France, Italy, Belgium, Morocco, Australia, Pakistan, Malaysia and Canada.

This large influx of troops succeeded in stabilizing the situation. The warring clans accepted an uneasy truce, convoys of food and supplies began to flow, the threat of widespread starvation was put aside, and markets began to reopen. However, the most powerful warlord, General Muhammed Aideed, continued to amass power under this umbrella of military force, while avoiding direct confrontation with UN troops. Since the UN charter for this mission was limited to humanitarian aid, using force only to secure its distribution, no effort was made to disarm or attack the powerful warlords.

In May of 1993 the mission came under exclusive control of the United Nations and a United Nation’s general assumed command of all military operations. United Nations diplomats began pressing for a more active role in confiscating and destroying weapons from the clans. Under the new structure the U.S. military provided a 1,100-soldier ground-based Quick Reaction Force (QRF) consisting of a brigade-level headquarters from the 10^th Mountain Division.

Aideed had little respect for the new organization. On June 5, 1993 his forces ambushed and killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, wounding another 44. The UN command asked for more forces and a more aggressive stance. The United States supplied four Air Force AC-130 gunships, which were deployed on June 7^th, providing a total of 32 interdiction, reconnaissance and PSYOP missions, eight of which were combat sorties over the city of Mogadishu aimed at destroying weapons storage areas, communications facilities and vehicle parks belonging to Aideed and his key supporters. A price of $25,000 was placed on Aideed’s head in a challenge to his leadership. Aideed went underground and stepped up his attacks on coalition forces.

Following a QRF raid on a major Aideed compound with helicopter gunships, a hostile crowd killed four western journalists covering the action, displaying their bodies publicly for the world to see. On August 8^th his forces detonated a mine under a U.S. Military Police vehicle killing four U.S. MPs.

A plan was developed to capture or kill Aideed, though his whereabouts were mostly unknown. Task Force Ranger had the mission of capturing Aideed and his key lieutenants. The task force conducted six missions into Mogadishu, all successful. In one of these raids one of Aideed’s closest advisors was captured, but for the first time U.S. Rangers faced massed rocket-propelled grenade fire from Aideed’s forces.

On September 8^th, while clearing roadblocks, U.S. and Pakistani soldiers were attacked at the “Cigarette Factory” by Somali militia using 106mm recoilless rifles, RPGs and small arms. The enemy fire was suppressed only with the arrival of air support. Later that day the force was attacked again, this time by a mob of roughly 1,000 Somali civilians.

On 16 and 21 September two more roadblock-clearing teams were ambushed. On September 25^th a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter was shot down, with RPG fire, resulting in three soldiers killed.

On October 3, Task Force Ranger launched it’s seventh mission, into Aideed’s stronghold near Mogadishu’s Bakara Market, to capture two of his top lieutenants. Helicopters and ground forces converged on the area, and soon came under heavy enemy fire, more intense than during previous raids. Then a circling MH-60 Blackhawk was hit by RPG fire, crashing three blocks from it’s target location. Another chopper, attempting to rescue the crew, was also hit by an RPG, but managed to return to base. Ground fire struck two more Blackhawks, one going down a mile away. A Somali mob overran this second crash site and killed all but one pilot, whom they captured. Two of the defenders at this site received posthumous Medals of Honor.

Ground forces, including the 2^nd Battalion, 14^th Infantry Regiment, managed to reach the area of the first downed chopper, and held the Somali’s at bay until the pilot was rescued. Eventually, under heavy fire, had to give up an initial attempt to reach the second downed chopper.

The coalition forces regrouped, reinforced their numbers with armored personnel carriers, tanks, and more air support, and returned for another attempt to reach the second chopper. The convoy, under continuous fire, reached the crash site and worked through the night to recover the pilot’s body. The coalition forces then withdrew under heavy fire, fighting their way back through the city to safety. Task Force Ranger lost 16 men during the two-day action, with another 57 wounded. The 2/14^th suffered 2 killed and 22 wounded. Somali casualties were placed between 500 and 1,500.

Immediately after this battle the United States significantly increased its military forces in Somalia, deploying the 24^th Infantry Division (Mechanized) with Bradley fighting vehicles and an attached platoon of M1 Abrams tanks. They were soon joined by the 1^st Battalion, 64^th Armor, and the 2^nd Battalion, 22^nd Infantry, along with a Marine expeditionary unit and more AC-130 gunships.

However the force was intended only to provide cover for the withdrawal of United States forces from Somalia. President Clinton focused on protecting the forces, protecting the UN, and removing the forces with a minimum of casualties. In a national security policy review session held in the White House on October 6, 1993, the president directed that the Joint Chiefs stop all actions by U.S. forces against Aideed except those required in self-defense. Most American troops were out of Somalia by March of 1994.

Overview: Military Operations in Somalia
Material drawn from the booklet "The United States Army in Somalia: 1992-1994" by Dr. Richard W. Stewart, U.S. Army Center of Military History
Copyright © 2008 Kirk S. Ramsey
Last modified: March 04, 2011