U.N. counter-attacks backfired by killing clan elders and turning Aideed into a hero
Evidence
The ensuing U.N. counter-attacks were profoundly counter-productive. While they failed to locate the elusive ‘Aideed they produced hundreds if not thousands of Somali casualties, including important Habar Gidir clan elders, with whom U.N.O.S.O.M. was supposed to be trying to negotiate peace, as well as other clansmen up till then hostile to the wily Somali brigand. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 636 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
This hope seems to have been based largely on his earlier success in rallying the Habar Gidir clan leaders when they were under fierce attack by the forces of U.N.O.S.O.M. in 1993 and ‘Aideed was a hunted fugitive. Abdulqassim’s attempt to persuade his clansmen to make peace with U.N.O.S.O.M. then ended in the tragedy of the unprovoked helicopter gunship attack on the meeting of Habar Gidir elders on 12 July (‘Operation Michigan’) which killed 73 people. (This callous U.N./U.S. blunder eventually led, on 3 October, to the final, disastrous ‘Black Monday’ gunship assault that sealed U.N.O.S.O.M.’s fate.) ‘Abdulqassim, who lived very near the site of this Habar Gidir meeting, was extremely lucky to escape the carnage. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 679 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Aideed took advantage of this wholesale foreign condemnation, proclaiming with Sudanese support that — unlikely though this was to those who knew him – he was fighting in the name of Islam to free his country from alien domination (Howe was suspected of having Christian fundamentalist leanings). Assisted by simplistic media reporting, he even began to acquire an international reputation as an oppressed national hero, an image strengthened by his success in provoking the U.N. into demonizing him and concentrating virtually all the energies of the vast Somali operation on taking him captive. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 636 (
#expands, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: UN counter-attacks killed the very Habar Gidir elders the peace process courted. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 636; The UN abandoned clan elder empowerment in favor of warlord dealings.; The UN’s 1993 massacre of Habar Gidir elders sealed its own mission’s fate — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 679 (+1 more)
Related
- UN counter-attacks killed the very Habar Gidir elders the peace process courted. (similarity 0.91)
- The UN’s 1993 massacre of Habar Gidir elders sealed its own mission’s fate (similarity 0.88)
- UN demonization transformed Aideed into an international hero and national symbol. (similarity 0.85)
- The UN abandoned clan elder empowerment in favor of warlord dealings. (similarity 0.84)
- UNOSOM’s hiring of Habar Gidir locals fatally compromised its intelligence. (similarity 0.82)
Broader Connections
- UN counter-attacks killed the very Habar Gidir elders the peace process courted.
#corroborates(0.90) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 636 - The UN’s 1993 massacre of Habar Gidir elders sealed its own mission’s fate
#corroborates(0.85) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 679 - UN demonization transformed Aideed into an international hero and national symbol.
#expands(0.80) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 636 - The UN abandoned clan elder empowerment in favor of warlord dealings.
#expands(0.50)