Operation Gothic Serpent

Part of the Somali Civil War

75th Ranger Regiment Bravo Company 3rd Batallion Somalia 1993.jpg

B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in Somalia, 1993.

Date

22 August 1993 – 13 October 1993

Location

Mogadishu, Somalia

Result

tactical victory; Somali National Alliance (SNA) strategic victory

Americans withdraw, followed by the UN a year later.
Aided later declares himself president, however he was not recognised by the international community.
U.S. withdrawal on 3 March 1994
U.N. withdrawal on 28 March 1995

Belligerents

Italy

SNA

Commanders and leaders

William F. Garrison

Mohamed Farrah Aidid

Strength

30,000+ all five U.N. nations

Around 4,000-6,000+ militia mixed with civilian fighters

Casualties and losses

19 killed

24 killed

1 killed
73 wounded
1 captured

300-500 killed with two thirds being civillians

tactical victory; Somali National Alliance (SNA) strategic victory

Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted by United States special operations forces with the primary mission of capturing faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The operation occurred in Somalia from August to October 1993 and was supervised by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).

As part of the operation, the soldiers were deployed in a mission to arrest two of Aidid's lieutenants. That mission's result – executed under the command of Gothic Serpent – became known as the Battle of Mogadishu.

In December 1992, U.S. President George H. W. Bush ordered the U.S. military to join the U.N. in a joint operation known as Operation Restore Hope, with the primary mission of restoring order in Somalia. The country was wracked by civil war and a severe famine as it was ruled by a number of faction leaders. Over the next several months, the situation deteriorated.

On 20 January 1993, Bush's successor, Bill Clinton, took office.

In May 1993, all the parties involved in the civil war agreed to a disarmament conference proposed by the leading Somali faction leader, Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The Somali National Alliance had been formed in June 1992. This alliance consisted of faction leaders across the country, operating under Aidid's authority, Aidid having declared himself Somalia's president. A great number of Somali civilians also resented the international forces, leading many, including women and children, to take up arms and actively resist U.S. forces during fighting in Mogadishu.

...
Wikipedia