Somali faction leader Aydiid dies

August 2, 1996
Web posted at: 8:30 a.m. EDT

MOGADISHU, Somalia (CNN) -- The Somali faction leader whose forces drove a U.N. peacekeeping mission out of the lawless east African country has died.

Gen. Mohamed Farrah Aydiid's death was confirmed Friday by the ambassador-at-large for Somalia, Ahmed Mohamed Darman, in Washington, D.C., but the cause of the general's death was unclear.

Radio South Mogadishu, Aydiid's radio station, reported that he died Thursday of a heart attack "while performing his national duties."

Aydiid, who proclaimed himself president of Somalia following the ouster of the U.N. peacekeepers in 1995, was reported wounded last week in fighting between his militia and other factions. At the time he was said to have been treated and released, but some sources said his wounds were more serious.

A U.N. source said Friday that Aydiid was hit by two bullets on July 24 in the Medina neighborhood of south Mogadishu, and that one of the wounds became infected. The source speculated that the general could have suffered a heart attack during a subsequent surgery.

Thousands of Somalis flooded Mogadishu's streets as the news of Aydiid's death spread, many trying to reach his home or the mosque where a funeral service was to be held later Friday. There were no reports of fighting in the already bloodied streets of the Somali capital, where the forces of Aydiid and arch-rivals Ali Mahdi Mohamed, and later those of Osman Hassan Ali Atto, have engaged in a civil war since 1991.

Aydiid was a high-ranking official in the government of Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre, serving in the army, as a member of the cabinet and as ambassador to India before Siad Barre named him intelligence chief. But Siad Barre later suspected Aydiid of plotting against him, and jailed him for six years.

In January 1991, Aydiid's Hawiye clan overthrew Siad Barre, but the clan broke into factions, led by Aydiid and Ali Mahdi, and began fighting for control in Mogadishu. Atto ousted Aydiid last year as head of the Somali National Alliance, adding another major faction into the bloody civil war that has cost the lives of more than 350,000 Somalis from famine and fighting.

The United Nations, prompted by increased warnings from humanitarian groups, sent a multi-nation peacekeeping force, including a contingent of U.S. Marines, into the country in late 1992 to protect relief workers and help supplies reach the Somali people. In less than a year, the United Nations had issued a warrant for Aydiid's arrest, charging him in an ambush in which 24 Pakistani peacekeepers were killed.

Aydiid denied responsibility for the deaths, and the U.N. forces never came close to capturing him.

In October, 1993, the general's militia brought down two U.S. helicopters, killing 18 Army rangers. An outcry in the United States over the killings forced President Clinton to speed up withdrawal of troops from the failed mission. The United Nations completed its withdrawal in March 1995, leaving Somalia completely to the warring factions.

One aid official, calling Aydiid a major obstacle to many peace plans, said that the general's death could improve prospects for peace in Somalia.

"For organizations such as the United Nations and European Union, his death certainly means the death of the major bogeyman."

-- U.N. Official

"Normally one should feel said when someone dies, but it's difficult," the official said. "He has been responsible for so many other people dying."

Another aid official predicted a short power struggle, but also said Aydiid's death would benefit Somalia and its people in the long run.

"For organizations such as the United Nations and European Union, his death certainly means the death of the major bogeyman," the official said.

Radio South Mogadishu said that a committee had been appointed to head Aydiid's political faction and select a new leader. The radio station read a statement, apparently from the committee, calling on the general's militia to "remain watchful and defend their rights."

Aydiid, believed to be in his early 60s, is survived by his third wife, Khadija Said Gurhan, and 14 children.

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