Mogadishu

Mogadishu

Mogadishu (Somali: Muqdisho, popularly Xamar; Arabic: مقديشو‎ Maqadīshū; Italian: Mogadiscio) is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital.

Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important regional port for centuries.

With the collapse of the central government in 1991, Mogadishu has been the stage for 17 years of fighting between rival militias. Years of civil unrest and uncontrolled insurgencies against Ethiopian occupation have transformed Mogadishu into one of the most dangerous and lawless cities in the world. Estimates of the city's current population vary greatly, with figures ranging from 1.5 million to 3 million, as many of its former inhabitants have fled.

Trade connected Somalis in the Mogadishu area to other communities along the Indian coast as early as the 1st century according to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. With Muslim traders from the Arabian Peninsula arriving circa 900 AD, Mogadishu was well-suited to become a regional center for commerce.

For many years, Mogadishu stood as the pre-eminent city in the Bilad al Barbar ("Land of the Berbers"), which was the medieval Arabic term for the Horn of Africa. The Portuguese visited the city but never took it. In 1871 Barghash bin Said, the sultan of Zanzibar, occupied the city.

In 1892, Ali bin Said leased the city to Italy. Italy purchased the city in 1905 and made Mogadishu the capital of Italian Somaliland. After World War I the surrounding territory came under Italian control with some resistance.

In the late 1930s, the 10,000-strong Italian Somalians living in Mogadishu helped construct new buildings and avenues. A new 114 km railway was built, which connected the city with Jowhar. A new asphalted road called the Imperial Road was also constructed, linking Mogadishu to Addis Ababa.

Rebel forces entered and took the city in 1990, forcing then President of Somalia Mohamed Siad Barre to flee in 1991 to Kenya. One faction proclaimed Ali Mahdi Muhammad president, another Mohamed Farrah Aidid. A contingent of United States Marines landed near Mogadishu on December 9, 1992 to spearhead the United Nations peacekeeping forces during Operation Restore Hope, in which Pakistan, Italy and Malaysia also participated.

In the wake of Operation Restore Hope, further US helicopter-borne incursions persisted, until, on October 4, 1993, at 6:30 AM., American forces were finally evacuated to the UN's Pakistani base by an armored convoy along the so-called "Mogadishu Mile." In that exercise alone, 18 U.S. soldiers died and 73 were injured, while two US Black Hawk helicopters were shot down and three further MH-60s put out of action. After the battle, one or more US casualties of the conflict were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by crowds of local civilians and SNA forces. The Malaysian forces lost one soldier and had seven injured, while the Pakistanis suffered two injured. Casualties on the Somali side were heavy, with estimates on fatalities ranging from 500 to over 2,000 people. The Somali casualties were a mixture of militiamen and local civilians. Somali civilians suffered heavy casualties due to the dense urban character of that portion of Mogadishu. Two days later, a mortar round fell on the U.S. compound, killing one U.S. soldier, and injuring another twelve.

Mogadishu was subsequently run by competing warlords until 2006, when Islamists and businessmen formed a successful coalition, seized control and governed the city as the Union of Islamic Courts. Later that same year, the Ethiopian military invaded to oust the U.I.C. and restore the internationally-recognized government, which had long remained in exile in Kenya.

Mogadishu was the scene of bitter warfare and devastation caused by fighting between Ethiopian troops, which invaded Somalia to support a fragile government, and Islamist guerrillas. Fighting escalated in March–April 2007, November 2007 and April 2008 with hundreds of civilian casualties. In October 2008, the BBC reported that the city had been "abandoned by at least half of its residents", and that there were "street after ruined street of bombed-out buildings in the center of Mogadishu".

As of 2008, a 2,700-strong African Union peacekeeping force is attempting to bring stability and security to the city, as well as providing medical aid to the population.

Mogadishu is the hometown of the Abgaal, a Somali clan.

Mogadishu is located at 2°4′N 45°22′E / 2.067°N 45.367°E / 2.067; 45.367. The Shebelle River (Webiga Shabelle) rises in central Ethiopia and comes within 30 kilometers (19 mi) of the Indian Ocean near Mogadishu before turning southwestward. Usually dry during February and March, the river provides water essential for the cultivation of sugarcane, cotton, and bananas.

Features of the city include the Hamarwein old town, the Bakaara Market, and the former resort of Gezira Beach. The sandy beaches of Mogadishu are reported, by the few Western travelers, to be among the most beautiful in the world, offering easy access to vibrant coral reefs.

Mogadishu serves as a commercial and financial center. The economy has recovered somewhat from the civil unrest although the Somali Civil War still presents many problems. The effective absence of government yields free trade without taxes or regulatory expenditures, making business relatively inexpensive. Businesses have hired armed militias to provide security against gunmen, leading to a gradual reduction in street violence. However, high levels of crime including frequent murders and occasional bombings are still rampant in the city.

Principal industries include food and beverage processing and textiles, especially cotton ginning. The main market offers a variety of goods from food to electronic gadgets.

Telcom a telecommunications network operator in Somalia has its headquarters in the city.

Roads leading out of Mogadishu connect the city to many other Somali locales and to Ethiopia and Kenya.

Private airlines, such as Jubba Airways, service Mogadishu at various airports within and around the city. The intense fighting largely destroyed the old Mogadishu International Airport (now renamed Aden Adde International Airport), which briefly reopened before the War in Somalia (2006-present). As of 2007, K50 Airport serves Mogadishu.

Mogadishu leads Somalia in port traffic and still serves as a major seaport. International traders actively benefit from its de facto duty-free status. However, piracy is widespread around Somalia's coastal areas, making sea transport risky.

There were projects during the 1980s to reactivate the 114 km railway between Mogadishu and Jowhar, built by the Italians in 1926 but dismantled in WWII by British troops. The Railway Mogadiscio-Villabruzzi was planned in 1939 to reach Addis Abeba.

Mogadishu has had no official government for many years now since the city was mostly under the control of various heavily-armed militias and factions. In recent years, however, the Transitional Federal Government, with the help of foreign troops, appears to have finally amassed the necessary military wherewithal to engage the militias and reestablish the rule of law.

Despite the civil unrest, Mogadishu counts several institutions of higher learning.

Mogadishu University is a non-governmental university that is governed by a Board of Trustees and a University Council. It is the brainchild of a number of professors from the Somali National University as well as other Somali intellectuals who sought to find ways to provide post-secondary education in the wake of the Somali Civil War. Financed by the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as well as other donor institutions, the university counts hundreds of young Somali graduates from its seven faculties, some of whom continue on to pursue Master's degrees abroad thanks to a scholarship program. Mogadishu University has established partnerships with several other academic institutions, including the University of Aalborg in Denmark, three universities in Egypt, seven universities in Sudan, the University of Djibouti in Djibouti, and two universities in Yemen. It has also been scored among the 100 best universities in Africa in spite of the harsh environment, which has been hailed as a triumph for grass-roots initiatives.

The Somalia National University, founded in 1954 during the "Italian Trust Administration of Somalia" (AFIS), has been closed indefinitely due to extensive damage.

Benadir University was started in 2002 with the intention of training doctors but has since expanded into other fields.

Due to human capital shortage in the country's private sector management, the Somali Institute of Management and Administration Development (SIMAD) has given priority to the fields of business administration, information technology and accountancy.

The city is home to Mogadiscio Stadium, which plays host to the Somalia Cup and to soccer teams from the Somalia League.

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History of Mogadishu

Mogadishu (Somali: Muqdisho, popularly Xamar; Arabic: مقديشو‎ Maqadīshū; Italian: Mogadiscio), is the largest city in Somalia, and its capital. Mogadishu was historically founded on trade, and has recently seen armed warfare since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991.

Trade connected Somalis in the Mogadishu area to other communities along the Indian coast as early as the first century AD according to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. With Muslims traders from the Arabian Peninsula arriving circa AD 900, Mogadishu was well suited to become a regional centre for commerce.

While the majority of the Somali coast is arid, the area around Mogadishu is more suitable to agriculture and could support a larger population. It is also the northernmost site in East Africa with a good natural harbour.

For many years, Mogadishu stood as the pre-eminent city in the Bilad al Barbar ("Land of the Berbers"), which was the medieval Arabic term for the Horn of Africa. The origin of the name "Mogadishu" is unclear; one version claims it as the Somali version of the Arabic language and/or Persian name "maqad shah" (imperial seat of the shah). The historic Mosque of Fakr ad-Din, built in 1269, still stands.

Archaeological excavations have recovered many coins from China, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. The majority of the Chinese coins date to the Song Dynasty, although the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty "are also represented," according to Richard K.P. Pankhurst.

According to Duarte Barbosa the Portuguese visited the city but never succeeded in taking it. The sultan of Zanzibar occupied the city in 1871. Garesa Palace, built in the late 1800s for the local administrator of the sultan, now houses a museum and library.

When Mogadishu was visited (at the beginning of the colonial era in Africa) by French traveller Charles Guillain in 1846-1848, Mogadishu was dependent on both the Sultanate of Zanzibar and the Somali Geledi Clan.

In 1892, the sultan of Zanzibar leased the city to Italy. Italy purchased the city in 1905 and made Mogadiscio (Italian for Mogadishu) the capital of Italian Somaliland.

In 1926, after a bloody repression by governor Cesare Maria De Vecchi, southern Somalia was fully pacified and started to enjoy a period of economic development. The Somali colonial troops called Dubats (and the gendarmerie Zaptié) were extensively used by De Vecchi in this military campaign.

In the early 1930s, the new Italian governors, Guido Corni and Maurizio Rava, started a policy toward a friendly assimilation of the Somalis and their clans. Many Somalis of Mogadishu were enrolled in the Italian colonial troops.

Some thousands of Italian colonists moved to live in Mogadishu, which become a commercial centre with some small manufacturing companies, and in some agricultural areas around the capital (like the "Villaggio duca degli Abruzzi" and "Genale").

Mogadishu in the late thirties was developed, by the 10,000 Italian Somalians living there, into a modern capital with new buildings and avenues, and was connected by a 114 km railway to Jowhar and by a new asphalted road (called "Imperial Road") to Addis Abeba.

British forces operating from Kenya during World War II captured and occupied Mogadishu. The capital of Italian Somaliland fell to the British forces on February 26, 1941. The British continued to rule until Italy returned in 1950 to administer their former Somali protectorate. Education advanced with the 1954 establishment of the Somalia National University.

Somalia achieved independence in 1960 with the union of the territories of former Italian Somalia and British Somaliland, and Mogadishu was proclaimed the Capital.

Rebel forces entered and took the city in 1990, forcing President Mohammed Siad Barre to resign and flee in January 1991 to Lagos, Nigeria. One faction proclaimed Mohammed Ali Mahdi president, another Mohammed Farah Aidid. The Somalia National University, which enrolled 4600 students before the war, closed as the educational system soon collapsed.

Intense battling between these rivals and other clan-based rebel factions damaged many parts of Mogadishu in 1991-1992 and led to tens of thousands of casualties as an intense drought-induced famine ravaged rural Somalia.

A contingent of United States Marines landed near Mogadishu on December 9, 1992 to spearhead United Nations peacekeeping forces. The United Nations sought to capture warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in 1993 to enable the establishment of a transitional government. Somalis loyal to him ambushed the peacekeepers and killed 24 Pakistanis.

On October 3, 1993, the United States Army Rangers and the Army's Delta Force went on a mission to capture two of Aidid's warlords, which lead to the Battle of Mogadishu. Although the mission was successful, five American army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down during the battle (two in the city and 3 at a safe area), causing about 100 United States Army Rangers and Delta Force operators to be pinned down in the city, trying to rescue survivors and recover the dead. In this Battle of Mogadishu, the Somalis killed 18, one soldier three days later in a mortar strike and 1 Malaysian soldier and injured several dozen. Estimates put the number of Somali casualties at 500-1000 militia and civilians dead and 3000-4000 injured. The later nonfiction books Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, In The Company Of Heroes, and motion picture Black Hawk Down dramatized the events of this battle.

With these casualties, United States President Bill Clinton withdrew American forces in 1994. Two factions in Mogadishu nevertheless reached a peace accord on January 16, 1994. Heavy fighting, however, intensified between numerous warlords and factions for control over the city after the March 3, 1995 withdrawal of the last international peacekeepers.

Mohamed Farrah Aidid declared himself president in June 1995 and by 1996 captured strategic neighborhoods in Mogadishu and some outlying territory. Rival militias renewed fighting in Mogadishu and Hoddur in 1996. Aidid ultimately died in July 1996 from gunshot wounds suffered in a street battle.

On 7 May 2006, fighting broke out between Islamist militias and an alliance of Somali warlords over control of Mogadishu. The opposing forces were the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT), and militia loyal to the Islamic Court Union (ICU). The conflict began in mid-February, 2006, when Somali warlords formed the ARPCT to challenge the emerging influence of the ICU. It has been alleged that the United States has provided funding for the ARPCT due to concerns that the ICU has ties to al-Qaeda. Most of the combat was concentrated in the Sii-Sii (often written "CC" in English) district in northern Mogadishu with both the Islamist militias and the secular warlords fighting for control of Mogadishu. On 5 June 2006, the ICU militia seized Mogadishu.

While the ICU consolidated control over Mogadishu, a UN-supported Transitional Government remained undefeated in Baidoa, despite a series of military setbacks. An attempt by the ICU to capture Baidoa prompted a military intervention by Ethiopia in support of the Transitional Government starting December 21, 2006. On December 25 Ethiopian jets bombed Mogadishu's main airport held by the ICU since June. Witnesses reported MiG fighter jets fired missiles into the airport twice. One person was killed and a number injured. Further north, Beledweyne was also bombed, according to witnesses. The fighting between the Ethiopian-backed TFG and the ICU became stretched to over 400km (250 miles) of land.

Following a rapid advance, Ethiopian and pro-government militias surrounded Mogadishu. A spokesman stated that the troops would besiege the city but not attack it in order to avoid civilian casualties. On December 27, reports stated that the ICU was abandoning the city. On December 28, 2006, pro-government militias claimed to have taken control of key locations, including the former presidential palace.

In January 2007, an Islamic insurgency erupted in Mogadishu, targeting government and Ethiopian forces. A helicopter was shot down as battles engulf in the city on March 30, 2007. Two Ethiopian helicopters fired on a rebel stronghold before one was hit by a missile. In addition, Ethiopia told its forces had killed 200 insurgents in a two-day joint offensive with Somali troops against the Islamic Courts Union.

On December 29, 2008, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed announced before a united parliament in Baidoa his resignation as President of Somalia. In his speech, which was broadcast on national radio, Yusuf expressed regret at failing to end the country's 17 year conflict as his government had mandated to do.

He also blamed the international community for its failure to support the government, and said that the speaker of parliament, Aden "Madobe" Mohamed, would succeed him in office per the Transitional Federal Government's Charter.

While a few observers have suggested that Yusuf's resignation adds chaos to the country's political landscape as Ethiopia withdraws its troops, some diplomats have suggested that Yusuf's resignation might improve the prospects of striking a deal with the more moderate Islamist insurgents.

Yusuf was initially reported to have flown out of Baidoa back to his native Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northern Somalia. He then arrived in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, on January 20, along with his wife and 17 family members and guards. A Yemeni government official said that Yusuf expressed a desire to live in Yemen, but no political asylum has been discussed yet. The official continued that he thought Yusuf wanted to live in Yemen for a short period before perhaps seeking medical treatment in the United Kingdom.

Many Somalis believe that 2009 will be the year that peace will be brought to Somalia. The TFP (Transitional Federal Government), backed by the UN are planning Parliamentarian election for a president. The ballot will only be cast by the the TFP and not by the people.

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Battle of Mogadishu (1993)

The Battle of Mogadishu (also referred to as the Battle of the Black Sea) or for Somalis The Day of the Rangers (Somali: Maalintii Rangers) was a battle that was part of Operation Gothic Serpent that was fought on October 3 and 4, 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, by forces of the United States supported by UNOSOM II against Somali militia fighters loyal to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, with support from armed civilian fighters. The battle is also referred to as the First Battle of Mogadishu to distinguish it from the later Second Battle of Mogadishu. Task Force Ranger, which consisted of an assault force made up of US Army Delta Force, Ranger teams, an air element provided by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, four Navy SEAL operators from SEAL Team 6, and members of the Air Force Pararescue/Air Force Combat Controllers, executed an operation which involved traveling from their compound on the outskirts of the city to capture tier one personalities of the Habr Gidr clan, headed by Aidid. The assault force consisted of nineteen aircraft, twelve vehicles and 160 men. During the operation, two U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by rocket-propelled grenades, and three others were damaged. Some of the soldiers were able to evacuate wounded back to the compound, but others were trapped at the crash sites and cut off. An urban battle ensued throughout the night. Early the next morning, a combined task force was sent to rescue the trapped soldiers. It contained soldiers from Pakistan, Malaysia, and the U.S. 10th Mountain Division. They assembled some 100 vehicles, including Pakistani tanks (American-made M48s) and Malaysian Condor armored personnel carriers, and were supported by U.S. A/MH-6 Little Bird, and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. This task force reached the first crash site and led the trapped soldiers out. The second crash site was overrun and pilot Mike Durant, the lone surviving American from that site, was taken prisoner but later released.

Somali casualty figures are unknown, but American estimates are that between 1,000 and 1,500 Somali militiamen and civilians lost their lives in the battle, with injuries to another 3,000-4,000. However, the International Committee of the Red Cross estimated 200 Somali civilians killed and several hundred wounded in the fighting. The book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War estimates more than 700 Somali militiamen dead and more than 1,000 wounded, but the Somali National Alliance in a Frontline documentary on American television acknowledged only 133 killed in the whole battle. Eighteen American soldiers died and 73 were wounded (another American soldier, Delta operator SFC Matt Rierson, was killed in a mortar attack two days later). Among UN forces, one Malaysian soldier died; seven Malaysians and two Pakistanis were wounded.

In January 1991, then President of Somalia, Mohammed Siad Barre, was overthrown by a coalition of opposing clans called the United Somali Congress. After this revolution, the coalition divided into two groups. One was led by Ali Mahdi Muhammad, who became president; and the other, by Mohammed Farah Aidid. In total, there were four opposing groups: the United Somali Congress (USC), Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), and Somali Democratic Movement (SDM), which continued to fight over the domination of Somalia. In June 1991, a ceasefire was agreed to, but failed to hold. A fifth group, the Somali National Movement (SNM), had already seceded from the northwest portion of Somalia in June. The SNM renamed it the Somaliland Republic, with its leader Abdel-Rahman Ahmed Ali as president.

In September 1991, severe fighting broke out in Mogadishu, which continued in the following months and spread throughout the country, with over 20,000 people killed or injured by the end of the year. These wars led to the destruction of the agriculture of Somalia, which in turn led to starvation in large parts of the country. The international community began to send food supplies to halt the starvation, but vast amounts of food were hijacked and brought to local clan leaders, who routinely exchanged it with other countries for weapons. An estimated 80 percent of the food was stolen. These factors led to even more starvation, from which an estimated 300,000 people died, and another 1.5 million people suffered, between 1991 and 1992. In July 1992, after a ceasefire between the opposing clan factions, the United Nations (UN) sent 50 military observers to watch the distribution of the food.

Operation Provide Relief began in August 1992, when the U.S. President George H. W. Bush announced that U.S. military transports would support the multinational UN relief effort in Somalia. Ten C-130s and 400 people were deployed to Mombasa, Kenya during Operation Provide Relief, airlifting aid to remote areas in Somalia and reducing reliance on truck convoys. One member of the 86th Supply Squadron, USAFE's only contribution to the operation, was deployed with the ground support contingent. The Air Force C-130s delivered 48,000 tons of food and medical supplies in six months to international humanitarian organizations trying to help the over three million starving people in the country. When this proved inadequate to stop the massive death and displacement of the Somali people (500,000 dead and 1.5 million refugees or displaced), the U.S., in December 1992, launched a major coalition operation to assist and protect humanitarian activities, Operation Restore Hope, under which the United States would assume the unified command of the new operation, in accordance with Resolution 794 (1992). The U.S. Marine Corps landed with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Mogadishu and, with elements of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines, secured nearly one-third of the city, the port, and airport facilities, to facilitate airlifted humanitarian supplies in two weeks time. Elements of the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines and 1st Battalion, 7th Marines quickly secured routes to Baidoa, Balidogle and Kismayo, then were reinforced by the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion and the US Army's 10th Mountain Division.

A key moment in the operation was when the Clinton Administration shifted the mission from delivering food supplies to nation-building.

On March 3, 1993, the U.N. Secretary-General submitted to the U.N. Security Council his recommendations for effecting the transition from UNITAF to UNOSOM II. He indicated that since the adoption of Council resolution 794 (1992) in December 1992, the presence and operations of UNITAF had a positive impact on the security situation in Somalia and on the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance (UNITAF deployed some 37,000 personnel over forty percent of southern and central Somalia). However, there was still no effective government, police, or national army with the result of serious security threats to UN personnel. To that end, the U.N. Security Council authorized UNOSOM II to establish a secure environment throughout Somalia, to achieve national reconciliation so as to create a democratic state.

At the Conference on National Reconciliation in Somalia, held on March 15, 1993, in Addis Ababa, all fifteen Somali parties agreed to the terms set out to restore peace and democracy. Yet by May it became clear that, although signatory to the March Agreement, General Mohammed Farrah Aidid's faction would not cooperate in the Agreement's implementation.

UNOSOM II's attempts to implement disarmament led to violence. On June 5, 1993, twenty-four Pakistani troops in the UN force were killed in heavy fighting in an area of Mogadishu controlled by Aidid. It was widely reported that the bodies of the UN peacekeepers had been mutilated. Some were allegedly skinned. The next day, the United Nations Security Council issued Resolution 837, calling for the arrest and trial of those responsible for the ambush.

During the 17-minute combat operation, U.S. Cobra attack helicopters fired 16 TOW missiles and thousands of 20-millimeter cannon rounds into the compound, killing 73 of the clan elders. It would also lead to the deaths of four journalists, Dan Eldon, Hos Maina, Hansi Kraus and Anthony Macharia, who were killed by angry Somali mobs when they arrived to cover the incident . A fifth journalist, Scott Peterson, was injured but was rescued by his driver.

Some believe that this American attack was a turning point in unifying Somalis against the U.S. efforts in Somalia, including moderates and those opposed to the Habar Gidir.

On October 3, 1993, Task Force Ranger, U.S. Special Operations Forces composed mainly of Bravo Company 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D; better known as “Delta Force”) operators, and aviation support from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (“The Night Stalkers”), attempted to capture Aidid's foreign minister, Omar Salad Elmi, and his top political advisor, Mohamed Hassan Awale.

The plan was to fast rope from hovering MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, capture the targets, and load them onto a ground convoy for transport back to the U.S. compound. Four Ranger chalks commanded by Captain Michael Steele, also inserted by helicopter, were to provide a secure square perimeter on the four corners of the operation's target building.

The ground extraction convoy was supposed to reach the captive targets a few minutes after the beginning of the operation. However, it ran into delays. Somali citizens and local militia formed barricades along the streets of Mogadishu with rocks and burning tires, blocking the convoy from reaching the Rangers and their captives. A five-ton truck, part of the convoy, was struck by an RPG-7 rocket, inflicting fatal wounds to MSG Tim "Griz" Martin.

Other complications arose. A Ranger was seriously injured during the insertion. PFC Todd Blackburn fell while fast roping from a helicopter hovering 70 feet (21 m) above the streets. Minutes later, a MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, Super 61 piloted by CW3 Cliff Wolcott, was shot down by a rocket propelled grenade.

A Combat Search and Rescue team, led by TSgt Scott Fales of the Air Force Pararescuemen, were able to rope down to Super 61's crash site despite an RPG hit that crippled their helicopter. They found the pilots dead and five injured inside the Black Hawk. Under intense fire, the team removed the injured to a nearby collection point, where they built a make-shift shelter for the wounded using Kevlar floorboards from the Black Hawk.

There was confusion between the ground convoy and the assault team. The assault team and the ground convoy waited for twenty minutes just out of sight of each other, ready to move, but each under the impression that they were to be first contacted by the other. During the wait, a second Black Hawk helicopter, Super 64 piloted by CW3 Michael Durant, was downed.

Most of the assault team went to the first crash site for a rescue operation. Upon reaching the site, about 90 Rangers found themselves under siege from heavy militia fire. Despite air support, the Rangers were effectively trapped for the night. With a growing number of wounded needing shelter, the Rangers occupied several nearby houses taking the residents prisoner. Outside, a stiff breeze stirred up blinding brown clouds of dust.

The local SNA commander, Colonel Sharif Hassan Giumale, decided to call for a mortar bombardment of the houses occupied by the Rangers. Giumale requested a "half dozen" 60 mm mortars crews. The information that civilians were being held captive changed his plans.

At the second crash site, two Delta snipers, SFC Randy Shughart and MSG Gary Gordon, were inserted by helicopter (at their own request, permission was denied twice by Command but granted when they persisted and made a third request) to protect the injured crew from the approaching mob. Both snipers were later killed when the site was overrun by Somali militiamen. The Black Hawk's pilot, CW3 Michael Durant, who was seriously injured in the crash, was taken hostage. For their actions, Shughart and Gordon were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Repeated attempts by the Somalis to mass forces and overrun the American positions in a series of firefights near the crash sites were neutralized by aggressive small arms fire and by strafing and rocket attacks from AH-6J Little Bird helicopter gunships of the Nightstalkers, the only air support equipped to operate at night. The Somali National Alliance militia casualties were reported as 700 killed and about 1000 wounded. However, an eyewitness to the battle says the recovery parties for the SNA dead in the vicinity of the Olympic Hotel would indicate about 60.

A relief convoy of men from Task Force 2-14 Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, aided by Malaysian and Pakistani UN forces, arrived in the early morning. No contingency planning or coordination with UN forces had been arranged prior to the operation; consequently, the recovery of the surrounded U.S. soldiers was significantly complicated and delayed. Determined to protect all members of the rescue convoy, Gen. Garrison made sure to roll out in force. When the convoy finally pushed into the city, it consisted of more than 100 vehicles including Malaysian forces' German made Condor APCs, four Pakistani tanks, American Humvees and several five-ton flatbed trucks. This two mile long column was supported by several other Black Hawks and Cobra assault helicopters stationed with the 10th Mountain Division. The "Little Birds" of Task Force Ranger (TFR) continued their defense of the downed crew and rescuers of Super 61 throughout the night, the Night Stalkers being some of the only pilots trained and practiced in nighttime flying.

The battle was over by October 4, 1993, at 6:30 AM. American forces were finally evacuated to the UN Pakistani base by the armored convoy and the “Mogadishu Mile.” In all, 18 U.S. soldiers died of wounds from the battle and another 83 were injured. After the battle, the bodies of several US casualties of the conflict, members of the Black Hawk "Super 64" crew and their protectors, Delta Operators MSG Shughart and SFC Gordon, were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by crowds of local civilians and SNA forces. The Malaysian forces lost one soldier and had seven injured, while the Pakistanis suffered two injured. Casualties on the Somali side were heavy, with estimates on fatalities ranging from 315 to over 2,000 people. The Somali casualties were a mixture of militiamen and local civilians. Somali civilians suffered heavy casualties due to the dense urban character of that portion of Mogadishu. Two days later, a mortar round fell on the U.S. compound, killing one U.S. soldier, SFC Matt Rierson, and injuring another twelve.

The size and organizational structure of Somali forces are not known in detail; in all, between 2,000-4,000 regular militia members are believed to have participated, almost all of which belonged to Aidid's Somali National Alliance, drawing largely from the Habar Gedir clan.

In a national security policy review session held in the White House on October 6, 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton directed the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral David E. Jeremiah, to stop all actions by U.S. forces against Aidid except those required in self-defense. He also reappointed Ambassador Robert B. Oakley as special envoy to Somalia in an attempt to broker a peace settlement and then announced that all U.S. Forces would withdraw from Somalia no later than March 31, 1994. On December 15, 1993, Secretary of Defense Les Aspin stepped down, taking much of the blame for what was deemed a failed policy. A few hundred Marines remained offshore to assist with any noncombatant evacuation mission that might occur regarding the 1,000-plus U.S. civilians and military advisers remaining as part of the U.S. liaison mission.

The Ready Battalion of the 24th Infantry Division, 1-64 Armor, was sent from Fort Stewart, Georgia, to Mogadishu in the wake of this battle to secure the city and prevent a recurrence of hostilities.

All U.S. personnel were finally withdrawn by March 1995.

All three factors contributed to the decision to use tactics successful in previous raids but inappropriate to downtown Mogadishu, and to launch the operation during daylight instead of at night. However, by night, the meeting which the US wished to raid and capture the lieutenants may have ended, giving them no choice but to launch it in the day.

The Battle of Mogadishu led to a shift in American foreign policy, as the Clinton administration became increasingly reluctant to use military intervention in Third World conflicts peripherally related to the supreme national interests of the United States, such as the Rwandan Genocide, the mass murder of an estimated 800,000 to 1,071,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus by Hutu militia groups in Rwanda in 1994. President Clinton also refused to mobilize U.S. ground troops in fighting the Bosnian Serb Army in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995 and the Yugoslav Army in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (specifically, the province of Kosovo) in 1999, out of concern for sacrificing American soldiers in conflicts only peripherally related to the national interest or national defense of the United States, which could have resulted in situations similar to Mogadishu in 1993.

There have been allegations that Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda movement was involved in training and funding of Aidid's men. In his 2001 book, Holy War, Inc., CNN reporter Peter Bergen interviewed Bin Laden who affirmed these allegations. According to Bergen, Bin Laden asserted that fighters affiliated with his group were involved in killing American troops in Somalia in 1993, a claim he had earlier made to the Arabic newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi (English:Arab Jerusalem). The Al-Qaeda fighters in Somalia are rumored to have included the organization's military chief, Mohammed Atef, later killed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Four and a half years after the Battle of Mogadishu, in an interview in May 1998, bin Laden disparaged the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Somalia.

In 1999, writer Mark Bowden published the book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, which chronicles the events that surrounded the battle.

The book was adapted into the 2001 film Black Hawk Down, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Ridley Scott. The film describes the events surrounding the operation and some of the acts of bravery seen on that day. There are obvious differences between the book and the movie, which left out central sections and themes of the book, such as the involvement of civilians in the battle, and de-emphasized the key decision to stay in the area after the initial operation was completed, among others.

According to journalist Kevin Sites—one of the few Westerners to have reported from Mogadishu since the events of 1993—thousands went to see the film when it premiered in Somalia in 2002. Many people in Mogadishu were angered by it, calling it propaganda that focused on the 18 Americans killed and 83 wounded in the 18-hour battle, when an estimated 315 to 2,000 Somalis were also killed. When it was learned that the battle has been turned into a game for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 2, Somalis said it made a mockery of a real-life tragedy.

Mike Durant told his own story in his 2003 book In the Company of Heroes.

Later, in 2005, Matthew Eversmann, leader of Chalk 4 during the battle, compiled several different accounts into a book called The Battle of Mogadishu.

A Pakistani soldier was wounded when his vehicle was attacked by Somali insurgents. Another Pakistani soldier was also wounded. These were the only casualties among Pakistani troops, meaning that Pakistan was the only country that participated in the battle and sustained no fatalities.

However, Aidid himself claimed that only 315 - civilians and militia - were killed and 812 wounded. Captain Haad, in an interview on American public television, said 133 of the SNA militia were killed.

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