The final contingent of U.S. troops to withdraw from Somalia before 1994 flew out of the Mogadishu airport Wednesday.
The 400 troops were from the 507 Corps Support Group, the 16th Field Service Company and 364th Supply and Support Company, a U.S. military official said. Most of them were based at Fort Bragg, N.C.More than 8,000 U.S. troops in the U.N. peacekeeping force in Somalia were scheduled to leave for home by the March 31 deadline set by President Clinton.
The deadline was set following the killing of 18 U.S. peacekeepers in confrontations with clan leader Mohamed Aideed's militia in October. More than 70 peacekeepers have been killed since May.
As the troops flew out of the eastern African nation, the USS American Condor, carrying equipment, steamed out into the Indian ocean for the journey home.
About 3,000 U.S. troops, who arrived in the Horn of Africa last December to bring aid to thousands of starving Somalis, have already been withdrawn.