Visuallystunning, superbly acted, and poignantly scored, the film is an instant classic, as much for its authentic depiction of the deadly Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia on Oct. 3, 1993, as its TheBattle of Mogadishu, fought in Somalia's capital during October 1993, was at the time the biggest US military firefight since the Vietnam war. An attempt by American special forces to kidnap MalinFezehai for The New York Times. DOOLOW, Somalia — When her crops failed and her parched goats died, Hirsiyo Mohamed left her home in southwestern Somalia, carrying and coaxing three of her OperationGothic Serpent was led by special operations forces in Mogadishu, Somalia, from August to October in 1993. which marks the 28th anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu, in separate Tocommemorate the victory, an Arch of Triumph was constructed in Mogadishu and many Somalis celebrated -with a military parade under the Arch- the union of the Ogaden to Somalia. After June 1940, when the Kingdom of Italy declared war on the Allies, two divisions of Somali soldiers were raised in Italian Somaliland. replacedthe weakened Italian influence in neighboring Somalia and supported the authoritarian regime of Somali strongman Mohammed Siad Barre, who took power in 1969. (Map 1) After Siad Barre precipitated a disastrous war against Ethiopia over the status of the Ogaden region in 1977, the situation in Somalia grew worse. In1993, Somali fighters in Mogadishu were skilled warriors with years of combat experience. A favored weapon of the warlords was the "technical" - a pickup truck mounting a heavy machine gun or recoilless rifle. As famine stalked the land, Somalia broke up into a patchwork of warlord enclaves. International pressure to "do something Byearly 1992, as many 350,000 people in Somalia died from starvation, with another 80,000 people having fled to neighboring countries. The Battle of Mogadishu, commonly referred to as the Black Hawk Down incident, occurred in October 1993. A few weeks later, President William J. Clinton, on the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Audioand video clips from the October 3-4, 1993 Battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down) and an excerpt from President Bill Clinton's national address a week l FarahAbdi Warsameh/AP. Mogadishu, Somalia CNN —. Five people, plus four attackers, were killed in an attack at a hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Sunday, according to Somali police 9yZWHr.