Mogadishu, Monday
SOMALI militiamen killed seven Indian UN peacekeepers and wounded nine
today, firing anti-aircraft guns, mortars, and small arms as they
ambushed the patrol.
A UN military spokesman described the ambush as ''unprovoked and
carefully co-ordinated''.
Tonight the Security Council and Secretary-General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali made separate statements condemning the ''treacherous and
cowardly'' attack.
The battle, which raged on for seven hours, was the bloodiest between
UN soldiers and Somali militias since US and other Western forces pulled
out of Somalia in March.
Earlier this month, Boutros-Ghali said the world body would have to
reconsider its #666m-a-year UN Operation in Somalia (Unosom) if rival
factions failed to make progress towards reconciliation by the end of
next month.
Unosom spokesman Major Richard McDonald said the attack took place in
Burleego village, 70 miles south-west of the capital Mogadishu.
''A number of technical vehicles have been reported as destroyed by
Unosom. Other Somali casualties and the identity of the attackers aren't
known at this time,'' he said.
McDonald said five of the wounded had been evacuated to a military
hospital.
In another incident in Mogadishu, unidentified gunmen ambushed US
military vehicles, firing on them but failing to cause any casualties,
McDonald reported.
''No American casualties occurred and fire was returned. Somali
casualties aren't known,'' McDonald said.
Somali residents said they suspected clansmen of Mohamed Farah Aideed,
the warlord who battled UN and American forces last year, of carrying
out the ambush on the Indian soldiers.--Reuter.
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