Somali Youth With Pistol Slain by Marines

A Somali youth climbed a wall at a Marine compound in northern Mogadishu on Friday and was shot to death after he threatened a sentry with a pistol, officials said.

Another Somali man was wounded by Marine gunfire as he and three others tried to run a roadblock set up on the street outside the compound moments after the initial shooting.

Somali gunmen opened fire at three relief agency vehicles within an hour Friday afternoon in northern Mogadishu, injuring four people, a U.N. official said.

The vehicles belonged to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Save the Children, and Swedrelief, a Swedish aid agency. They were attacked about 250 yards from the office of the U.N. Children’s Fund, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The shooting incident at the Marine compound was the second of the day involving U.S. military personnel in a country American commanders say has been made secure enough to turn over to a U.N. peacekeeping force.

There were no injuries in the first incident.

The youth was killed after he climbed a wall surrounding a soccer stadium housing about 900 men and women of the Marine’s 7th Regimental Combat Team.

“He waved a pistol at a sentry, said he had nine rounds and was going to shoot,” Marine Lt. Col. Ron Stokes said. “The sentry shot him and he fell outside the wall.”

Two squads of Marines raced outside the stadium to recover the body and check for other gunmen in the area, setting up a roadblock on the street, Stokes said.

He said a car parked nearby with four occupants started up and tried to run the roadblock. Marines fired, wounding the driver.

The United States has about 23,000 military personnel in Somalia as part of a 20-nation force of more than 35,000 to safeguard the delivery of food to the nation’s starving from bandits and renegade militias.