Shootout In Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, NO STRANGER TO THE POP-POP OF ISOlated rifle fire, suddenly shook from the thunderous roar of a full-scale military assault. For 20 seemingly endless minutes, U.S. forces directed a massive array of firepower from AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, M1A1 Abrams tanks and amphibious assault vehicles, all aimed at two arsenals controlled by warlord General Mohammed Farrah Aidid in the Somali capital's northwest. The offensive was ostensibly in retaliation for sniper fire at U.S. troops, but the blazing-gun approach carried a clear warning to Somalia's increasingly bold gunmen that they continue to lurk and menace at their peril. Perhaps 21 Somalis were killed in the confrontation, the bloodiest since Operation Restore Hope began five weeks ago.

Aidid also figured prominently in last week's diplomatic developments. His supporters were widely believed to have organized a stone-throwing demonstration against the visit of United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to Mogadishu. The warlord was equally obstreperous at the start of a U.N.-sponsored meeting involving no fewer than 14 feuding Somali factions, held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. But he and other participants eventually agreed to a cease-fire scheduled to take effect this week and a formal "reconciliation conference" in March.