page_title: United Nations Operation in Somalia II
section_title: In operation
hierarchical_section_title: United Nations Operation in Somalia II / In operation
caption_attribution_description: English: An ambulance is backed up to the Emergency Room entrance to the United Nations field hospital in Mogadishu. The hospital is administered by the Romanians (Romanian Rocar T.V.-12 van).
context_page_description: United Nations Operation in Somalia II was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia, from March 1993 until March 1995, after the country had become involved in civil war in 1991.
  UNOSOM II carried on from the United States-controlled Unified Task Force. It had been active for a transition period when United Nations Operation in Somalia I mission proved to be ineffectual. All three of these interventions were intended to establish a secure enough environment for humanitarian operations to be carried out, because there was effectively no central government and the country was increasingly subject to factional violence and was suffering from famine, in part due to the warfare and social disruption.
  The UNOSOM II intervention was associated with the Battle of Mogadishu and related events in which eighteen American soldiers were killed. These events were later served as the basis for Mark Bowden's book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War in 1999.
context_section_description: A federalist government based on 18 autonomous regions was agreed upon by the leaders of Somalia's various armed factions. It was the objective of UNOSOM II to support this new system and initiate nation-building in Somalia. This included disarming the various factions, restoring law and order, helping the people to set up a representative government, and restoring infrastructure.
  UNOSOM II had a strength of 28,000 personnel, including 22,000 troops and 8,000 logistic and civilian staff from Algeria, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Spain, South Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zimbabwe. The US also provided 1,167 troops for a Quick Reaction Force under US operational control that would be stationed on US Navy ships off the coast of Somalia (see Carrier Strike Group 6). This force would respond to emergency threats to UNOSOM II but only if US Central Command in Florida approved.
  On 5 June, a Pakistani force was sent to investigate an arms depot belonging to a Somali warlord vying for the Presidency, Mohamed Farrah Aidid. When the Pakistani force arrived, they encountered angry Somali protesters. Twenty-four Pakistani soldiers inspecting weapons as part of the expanded UN mandate were killed when "forces believed to be associated with Aidid allegedly launched a fatal attack on peacekeeping forces."
  The UN responded the next day with Resolution 837, reaffirming that the secretary-general was authorized to "take all necessary measures against those responsible for the armed attacks and to establish the effective authority of UNOSOM II throughout Somalia." This was essentially equivalent to declaring war on Aidid and his army, a declaration that would lead to numerous confrontations between UNOSOM II personnel and Aidid's militia. UNOSOM II had much fewer war-fighting resources than UNITAF, but it was much more ambitious and aggressive.
  On 12 June 1993 U.S. troops started attacking targets in Mogadishu in hopes of finding Aidid, a campaign which lasted until 16 June. On 17 June, a $25,000 warrant was issued by Admiral Jonathan Howe for information leading to the arrest of Aidid, but he was never captured. Howe also requested a counter-terrorist rescue force after the killings of the Pakistani troops.
  The hunt for Aidid characterised much of the UNOSOM II intervention. The increasing tempo of military operations carried out in Mogadishu began to cause civilian casualties and affected the relationship between the foreign troops and the Somali people. The UN troops were portrayed as foreign interlopers, particularly after incidents of civilian casualties caused by wholesale firing into crowds. On July 12, a house where clan leaders were meeting was attacked by US AH-1 Cobra helicopters. Several buildings were destroyed and many Somalis died. When four western journalists went to investigate the scene, they were beaten to death by a Somali mob. The journalists were Hansi Krauss of Associated Press and Dan Eldon, Hos Maina and Anthony Macharia, all of Reuters.
  Somalis that had been disappointed by the failure of the UN to disarm the warlords in Mogadishu actually began to support those same warlords with an "us versus them" rationale. Islamism also began to rise, as militia leaders sought to use religion as a rallying point for anti-UN sentiment.  As the Americans became more insular, the warlords began to reassert control of many Mogadishu districts. With each failure to apprehend Aidid, the militias grew more bold. Serious rifts between nations contributing to UNOSOM II also began to develop, with Italy in particular being a major critic of the American methods.
  Somali militias began targeting peacekeepers, causing further casualties. On 8 August, Aidid's militia detonated a remote controlled bomb against a U.S. militar
caption: Romanian field hospital in Mogadishu, with a Rocar ambulance parked outside
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