Editing Battle of Mogadishu (1993) (section)

===Bloody Monday raid===
On 12 July 1993, a house where a meeting of clan elders was taking place was attacked by US [[Bell AH-1 Cobra|AH-1 Cobra]] helicopters in what became known to the Somalis as [[Abdi House raid|Bloody Monday]].<ref name=":172">{{Cite journal |last=Berdal |first=Mats |date=2000 |title=Lessons not learned: The use of force in 'peace operations' in the 1990s |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13533310008413863 |journal=International Peacekeeping |language=en |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=55–74 |doi=10.1080/13533310008413863 |issn=1353-3312 |s2cid=145387135 |hdl-access=free |hdl=11250/99737}}</ref> UNOSOM claimed that they had launched a successful raid on a [[Somali National Alliance]] command and control center where hardliners had been gathered, an account that is widely disputed by Somalis, foreign journalists and human rights organizations.{{sfn|Brune|1999|p=31}}<ref name=":334">{{Cite book |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/afr520031995en.pdf |title=SOMALIA: Building human rights in the disintegrated state |date=November 1995 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |pages=}}</ref><ref name=":132">{{Cite book |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports//pdfs/s/somalia/somalia954.pdf |title=SOMALIA FACES THE FUTURE - HUMAN RIGHTS IN A FRAGMENTED SOCIETY |date=April 1995 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |pages=98–101}}</ref><ref name="The Globe and Mail">{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=23 July 1993 |title=UN, U.S. accused of abuses in Somalia |work=The Globe and Mail |pages=A6}}</ref><ref name=":582">{{Cite book |last=Binet |first=Laurence |url=https://www.msf.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/MSF%20Speaking%20Out%20Somalia%201991-1993.pdf |title=Somalia 1991-1993: Civil War, Famine Alert and a UN "Military-Humanitarian" Intervention |publisher=[[Médecins Sans Frontières]] |year=2013 |pages=191–192}}</ref> UNOSOM II head [[Jonathan Howe|Johnathan Howe]] alleged that evidence to back UN claims could not be provided because the cameras recording the raid had jammed.{{Sfn|de Waal|1997|p=188}} The footage recorded of the incident by a Somali cameraman was considered so disturbing that [[CNN]] deemed it too graphic to show on air to the American public.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Peterson |first=S. |title=Me against my brother: at war in Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda: a journalist reports from the battlefields of Africa |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0415921988 |location=New York |pages=3–166 |oclc=43287853}}</ref>{{sfn|Drysdale|1994}}[[Human Rights Watch]] observed that UNOSOM had produced no evidence to substantiate its claims about the raid.<ref name=":26">{{Cite web |date=April 1995 |title=Somalia Faces the Future: Human Rights in a Fragmented Society |url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1995/somalia/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305121119/https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1995/somalia/ |archive-date=5 March 2022 |access-date=18 March 2019 |website=www.hrw.org}}</ref> According to Dr. Sebastian Kaempf, the [[Abdi House raid]] represented the single most important event during UNOSOM II, as the consequences of the attack proved disastrous for UNOSOM interests in Somalia.<ref name=":92">{{Cite journal |last=Kaempf |first=Sebastian |date=2012 |title=US warfare in Somalia and the trade-off between casualty-aversion and civilian protection |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09592318.2012.661608 |journal=Small Wars & Insurgencies |language=en |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=388–413 |doi=10.1080/09592318.2012.661608 |issn=0959-2318 |s2cid=143382088}}</ref> Notable groups and organizations such as the [[Vatican City|Vatican]], the [[Organisation of African Unity]], [[World Vision International|World Vision]], [[Médecins Sans Frontières|Doctors Without Borders]], [[Human Rights Watch]] and [[Amnesty International]] called for UNOSOM to review it policies and course.<ref name=":122">{{Cite news |last=News Wire Services |first=M. |date=13 July 1993 |title=AFRICAN NATIONS ASK FOR REVIEW OF U.N. ROLE IN SOMALIA |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0EB71B6C00A72916 |work=The Mercury News |pages=3A}}</ref><ref name=":113">{{Cite journal |last=Thakur |first=Ramesh |date=1994 |title=From Peacekeeping to Peace Enforcement: The UN Operation in Somalia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/161981 |journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=387–410 |doi=10.1017/S0022278X00015159 |issn=0022-278X |jstor=161981 |s2cid=154768424}}</ref><ref name=":333">{{Cite book |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/afr520031995en.pdf |title=SOMALIA: Building human rights in the disintegrated state |date=November 1995 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]] |pages=6}}</ref><ref name=":133">{{Cite book |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports//pdfs/s/somalia/somalia954.pdf |title=SOMALIA FACES THE FUTURE - HUMAN RIGHTS IN A FRAGMENTED SOCIETY |date=April 1995 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |pages=98–101}}</ref><ref name="Aldinger">{{Cite news |last=Aldinger |first=Charles |date=14 July 1993 |title=U.N.'S 'PACIFYING' ACTIONS RAISE DISTURBING QUESTIONS |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/0EADEDFD21A69B01 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette}}</ref>[[File:Sign at anti American protest in Mogadishu depicting the Abdi House raid or "Bloody Monday".png|thumb|A sign at an anti-UNOSOM protest in Mogadishu depicting [[Abdi House raid|Bloody Monday]]]]According to the [[International Committee of the Red Cross|Red Cross]], there were 215 Somalis casualties, although in the aftermath of the attack they were able to survey the dead and injured at only two of the hospitals in Mogadishu.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Richburg |first=Keith B. |date=16 July 1993 |title=U.N. Helicopter Assailt in Somalia Targeted Aideed's Top Commanders |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/07/16/un-helicopter-assault-in-somalia-targeted-aideeds-top-commanders/7791ba94-0a09-453d-b216-5d2ddc373385/ |access-date=14 March 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> [[Human Rights Watch]] declared that the attack "looked like mass murder" and an American reporter who was present on the scene said that the raid was far deadlier than U.S. and U.N. officials acknowledged.<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":6" /> An SNA official reported 73 were killed including many prominent clan elders, a charge UNOSOM denied.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Megas |first=Natalia |date=6 January 2019 |title=Did the U.S. Cover Up a Civilian Massacre Before Black Hawk Down? |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-the-us-cover-up-a-civilian-massacre-before-black-hawk-down |access-date=17 May 2020 |work=The Daily Beast |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> Bowden noted that every eyewitness he interviewed placed the number of dead at 70 or more and that former ambassador and U.S. special envoy to Somalia [[Robert B. Oakley]] accepted this figure. He further noted that many of those interviewed, including non-Somali aid workers, would say that many of those killed in the attack had been well-respected moderates opposed to Aidid.{{sfn|Bowden|2010|page=355}} Regardless of the meeting's true intent, the attack is generally considered as the most significant of the many incidents that occurred in 1993 that caused many Somalis to turn against UNOSOM II, especially the U.S. contingent.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":31">{{Cite web |date=15 October 1993 |title=A little-known massacre explains Somalian hatred |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1993-10-15-1993288151-story.html |access-date=14 March 2022 |website=Baltimore Sun |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite news |last=Richburg |first=Keith B. |date=10 September 1993 |title=U.S. Helicopters Fire on Somalis |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/09/10/us-helicopters-fire-on-somalis/bf79ed24-8b12-400b-a0a2-43b160067a54/ |access-date=16 March 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

The raid exposed deep rifts and created dissension amongst the UNOSOM II coalition, which consequently began fraying the cohesion and unity of the operation.<ref name=":40">{{Cite book |last=Simons |first=Geoff |title=Un Malaise : Power, Problems and Realpolitik. |date=2016 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan Limited |isbn=978-1-349-24297-9 |location=London |oclc=1085224318}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cowell |first=Alan |date=16 July 1993 |title=ITALY, IN U.N. RIFT, THREATENS RECALL OF SOMALIA TROOPS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/16/world/italy-in-un-rift-threatens-recall-of-somalia-troops.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526091743/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/16/world/italy-in-un-rift-threatens-recall-of-somalia-troops.html |archive-date=26 May 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name=":102">{{Cite news |date=19 July 1993 |title=Somali Warlord Calls for Battle Against UN |work=[[Montreal Gazette]] |pages=A10 |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> The head of the UNOSOM II Justice Division would criticize the raid in a memo to head of UNOSOM.<ref name=":43">{{Cite news |date=7 August 1993 |title=U.N. raid on villa criticized |work=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]] |pages=12a |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> Further criticism of the raid came from numerous contributing states,<ref name=":38">{{Cite news |last=Kiley |first=Sam |date=15 July 1993 |title=Mogadishu guerrillas expose failure of 'high-tech toy' tactics |work=[[The Times]] |pages=12}}</ref> most notably the Italian contingent, who threatened to pull out of the whole operation citing concerns that the escalation was indicative that relief role of UNOSOM II had been overtaken by an American-led war.<ref name=":272">{{Cite web |date=1993-07-12 |title=Talk, don't shoot, in Somalia: Waving the stick at warlords is |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/talk-don-t-shoot-in-somalia-waving-the-stick-at-warlords-is-failing-say-karl-maier-and-richard-dowden-1484643.html |access-date=2022-04-16 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":322">{{Cite news |date=16 July 1993 |title=Long among most obliging allies, Italy challenges Washington, UN: Somali crisis prompts call for greater say in world order |work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pick |first=Hella |date=17 July 1993 |title=Three strikes; UN operation in Bosnia, Somalia and Iraq in shambles |work=The Gazette}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Masland |first=Tom |date=24 July 1993 |title=WHY PEACEKEEPING ISN'T WORKING: UN BUNGLING LETS A WARLORD STAY ON THE LOOSE. THE MESS IN MOGADISHU IS A TEAM EFFORT |work=Vancouver Sun}}</ref> Italy, which had ruled [[Italian Somaliland|Somalia as a colonial territory]] for half a century, believed that the unprecedented attack threatened to widen the civil war and turn the Somalis against UNOSOM.<ref name=":52">{{Cite news |last=Bernstein |first=Richard |date=15 July 1993 |title=Italian General Who Refused Order in Somalia Is Removed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/15/world/italian-general-who-refused-order-in-somalia-is-removed.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Frances |date=22 July 1993 |title=Opinion In Somalia, Machiavelli Vs. Rambo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/22/opinion/in-somalia-machiavelli-vs-rambo.html |access-date=17 March 2022 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1993-07-16 |title=UN tries to clear up Somalia mess: The row with Italy over operations |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/un-tries-to-clear-up-somalia-mess-the-row-with-italy-over-operations-in-mogadishu-is-casting-a-shadow-across-the-future-of-peacekeeping-1485354.html |access-date=2022-04-16 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> Intense diplomatic efforts were made in order to avert a major split in UNOSOM II.<ref name=":102" /> Several UNOSOM contingents, ceased their participation in operations against [[Mohamed Farrah Aidid|Aidid]] upon receiving orders from their governments, weakening the already fragile command authority. Additionally, many humanitarian efforts came to a halt, and numerous NGOs expressed their disapproval of UNOSOM.<ref name=":192">{{Cite book |last1=Oakley |first1=Robert B. |author-link1=Robert B. Oakley |title=TWO PERSPECTIVES ON INTERVENTIONS AND HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS |year=1997 |pages=15}}</ref> The strike caused an outcry among UN civilian staffers and disenchantment over the direction of UNOSOM II for employees of the humanitarian section.<ref name=":142">{{Cite news |last1=Richburg |first1=Keith B. |author-link1=Keith Richburg |date=5 August 1993 |title=U.N. REPORT CRITICIZES MILITARY TACTICS OF SOMALIA PEACE KEEPERS |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/08/05/un-report-criticizes-military-tactics-of-somalia-peace-keepers/fbf9a6bb-f8cf-4eee-a30e-c91d5e9e89fc/ |access-date=14 March 2022 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name=":62">{{Cite news |last=Cowell |first=Alan |date=16 July 1993 |title=ITALY, IN U.N. RIFT, THREATENS RECALL OF SOMALIA TROOPS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/16/world/italy-in-un-rift-threatens-recall-of-somalia-troops.html |access-date=12 March 2022 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="war on aideed">{{Cite news |last=Richburg |first=Keith B. |date=6 December 1993 |title=IN WAR ON AIDEED, U.N. BATTLED ITSELF |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/12/06/in-war-on-aideed-un-battled-itself/a42feae5-4aff-4cd1-b680-8ee67c586a47/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806013245/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/12/06/in-war-on-aideed-un-battled-itself/a42feae5-4aff-4cd1-b680-8ee67c586a47/ |archive-date=6 August 2022 |access-date=12 March 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Several UN officials resigned in protest, including the top UNOSOM II Justice Division official, [[Ann Wright]].<ref name="war on aideed" /><ref name=":142" /> Many of those who stayed would comment to reporters that the UN had relinquished its [[moral authority]] in its war against Aidid.<ref name="war on aideed" /> The dissension in the U.N. ranks with the Italians and others over what had occurred on July 12, 1993, led to a significant lull in UNOSOM operations in Mogadishu until the August 8, 1993 killings of American soldiers.<ref name=":142" />

A significant increase in attacks on UNOSOM II troops followed 12 July 1993, and American forces in Mogadishu began being deliberately targeted by Somali factions.<ref name=":93">{{Cite journal |last=Kaempf |first=Sebastian |date=2012 |title=US warfare in Somalia and the trade-off between casualty-aversion and civilian protection |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09592318.2012.661608 |journal=Small Wars & Insurgencies |language=en |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=388–413 |doi=10.1080/09592318.2012.661608 |issn=0959-2318 |s2cid=143382088}}</ref><ref name=":254">{{Cite book |last=Wheeler |first=Nicholas J. |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/276 |title=Saving Strangers: Humanitarian Intervention in International Society |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2002 |isbn=9780191600302 |chapter=From Famine Relief to 'Humanitarian War': The US and UN Intervention in Somalia}}</ref> Night patrols were halted entirely due to Mogadishu becoming to dangerous for foreign troops.{{Sfn|Pouligny|2006|p=186}} In the view of [[Robert B. Oakley]], "Before July 12th, the U.S. would have been attacked only because of association with the UN, but the U.S. was never singled out until after July 12th".<ref name=":10" /> In the view of [[Black Hawk Down (book)|''Black Hawk Down'']] author [[Mark Bowden]] argued that the raid marked a serious escalation of the conflict in Somalia and was "a monumental misjudgment" and "tragic mistake".<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-12-06 |title=Hoover Institution – Policy Review – African Atrocities and the 'Rest of the World' |url=http://www.hoover.org:80/publications/policyreview/3487886.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206014644/http://www.hoover.org:80/publications/policyreview/3487886.html |archive-date=6 December 2008 |access-date=2022-08-05}}</ref> The events of [[Bloody Monday raid|Bloody Monday]] led Aidid to make the decision to specifically target American soldiers for the first time and resulted in the 8 August killings of U.S. troops that pushed [[President Clinton]] to send in extra troops to capture him.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wheeler |first=Nicholas J. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/43885035 |title=Saving strangers : humanitarian intervention in international society |date=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-829621-5 |location=Oxford |oclc=43885035}}</ref>