Somali gunmen killed two U.N. peacekeepers and captured 11 in a Mogadishu ambush but released their captives within hours, the U.N. said Tuesday.
It was the worst attack on U.N. peacekeepers in Somalia in two months. U.N. Secretary-General Boutros-Boutros Ghali said it underlined the need for a critical review of U.N. operations.The U.N. military spokesman, Major Rick McDonald, said two Malaysian U.N. peacekeepers were killed when gunmen ambushed a three-vehicle patrol near the "Green Line" battle zone dividing the capital Monday.
"There was a two-way firefight as the UNOSOM personnel tried to extricate themselves from the ambush. But eventually all 11 members of the patrol were captured," McDonald told Reuters.
The U.N. Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM) patrol consisted of nine Malaysian soldiers, three Italians and one New Zealander.
"In addition to the two dead, three Malaysians were wounded - one critically - and two Italians were wounded. All had bullet wounds. The sixth, a New Zealander, has a minor flesh wound caused either by a bullet splinter or gravel," he added.
"The Somalis who took them made it plain from the start that they weren't interested in keeping them prisoner. They wanted to sort out how to hand them back and it took some hours to do it.
"They were eventually released at a U.N. strongpoint at the K-4 junction. They were taken there in a minivan escorted by a bunch of technicals (armed trucks) and whoever was holding them went and talked to the guards.
"Half an hour later the two bodies and the 11 prisoners were released and taken to the U.N. compound," McDonald added.
The ambush took place at the scene of repeated clashes in the past month between militiamen of General Mohamed Aideed's Somali National Alliance and Hawadle clan gunmen.
McDonald said the bodies of the two Malaysians would be repatriated as soon as possible, possibly on Tuesday, and he believed there would be a U.N. investigation of the ambush.