U.S. helicopter gunships attacked the forces of one of Somalia's warring factions Monday after twice warning them to pull back from the southern town of Kismayu, a U.S. military spokesman said.
A Red Cross spokeswoman in Mogadishu reported about 40 injured Somalis were brought to the hospital. She spoke on condition of anonymity.No U.S. ground forces were involved and no U.S. casualties were reported, although one helicopter was damaged by Somali fire, the military spokesman, Marine Col. Fred Peck, said.
He said four Cobra gunships from the U.S. 10th Mountain Division fired rockets and cannon into troops of Gen. Mohamed Said Hirsi, known as Gen. Morgan, a son-in-law of former dictator Mohammed Siad Barre.
Six Somali armed vehicles, known as "technicals," one rocket launcher, one armored personnel carrier and four artillery pieces were destroyed, Peck said.
Belgian ground forces also joined in the assault 25 miles west of Kismayu, firing 30 mm guns from light armored vehicles.
Peck said the attack lasted one hour and stopped the advance of Morgan's forces against those of Col. Omar Jess, who is allied with one of Somalia's major warlords, Gen. Mohamed Farah Aidid.
U.S. officials said Morgan had broken a cease-fire agreed to by 14 warring factions on Jan. 15 by attacking Jess' forces.
Aidid told a news conference earlier that he had asked the United States military to disarm Morgan's forces. He said they had attacked his militias in southern and central Somalia in violation of the cease-fire.
Aidid said he had informed U.S. special envoy Robert Oakley of the situation. He said the U.S.-led international task force "has the duty to intervene and disarm them."
"We have passed a message to Morgan to pull back from the Kismayu area and from Birhane," a village 28 miles from Kismayu where there was fighting Sunday, a U.S. official said earlier Monday. He spoke on condition of anonymity.
By his request, Aidid appeared to be trying to pull the United States beyond its orginal commitment of a humanitarian operation to secure Somalia to allow relief workers to travel around the country to feed the starving and tend to the ill.
Famine, civil war and lawlessness claimed the lives of 350,000 Somalis last year. Until the international forces of Operation Restore Hope arrived on Dec. 9, armed bandits were looting food aid with abandon.
In an interview Sunday, U.S. Marine Col. Chip Gregson, deputy director of operations for the task force, was asked if U.S. forces would enforce the cease-fire through military intervention or by other means.