3 Marines Hurt in Clash With Somali Snipers

U.S. Marines and Nigerian soldiers pounded at snipers with machine guns and grenades for five hours Thursday, shutting down relief activity in this devastated city with the heaviest shooting in weeks.

One Somali was killed and three U.S. Marines and two Nigerian soldiers were wounded in the firefight in an area rocked by anti-foreigner rioting Wednesday that left at least five Somalis dead.

Sniper fire hit the hotel where most foreign journalists stay. U.N. headquarters three blocks from the battle and a relief agency half a mile away also reportedly came under fire.

Most of the shooting came from the Nigerians, who are part of the U.S.-led coalition force serving in Somalia. Many of the Nigerians fired without restraint at any niche they believed might harbor a sniper.

In the southern port of Kismayu, about 2,300 U.S. and Belgian troops combed the city for weapons and rounded up fighters loyal to warlord Mohamed Siad Hirsi, known as Gen. Morgan. He faced a midnight Thursday deadline to move his forces north of Kismayu or be prepared for allied attack.

At least 60 sullen fighters in dusty civilian clothes surrendered in Kismayu. They gave up 43 rifles and machine guns.

Relief workers in Mogadishu stayed in their compounds, and aid deliveries were at a standstill for a second consecutive day. The chief U.N. spokesman in New York, Joe Sills, said there are no immediate plans to pull out U.N. workers.

The U.S.-led coalition came here to restore order and ensure that food gets to starving Somalis. But violence in Somalia this week has increased friction between rival factions and raised questions about the ability of foreign troops to maintain order in a nation loaded with weapons but without a government.

That could complicate the planned transition to a U.N. command, in which most of the 17,000 remaining American servicemen and women would go home.

The air in central Mogadishu smelled of gunpowder, and smoke drifted along streets near a major traffic circle where Thursday’s gun battle started.

More than 400 Marines searched for weapons in houses in the district after the battle, but they apparently found few arms. Traffic returned to the streets after the shooting stopped.

Marine Col. Fred Peck, the U.S. military spokesman, said the firefight appeared to have started as a battle between rival Somali groups. He said Nigerian soldiers guarding the area became involved and Marines rushed to help.

The shooting began at the traffic circle and spread along a main road to the hotel housing most foreign journalists. Almost two dozen Nigerian soldiers guarding the hotel directed a heavy barrage against suspected snipers.

Journalists saw one dead Somali who was shot in the traffic circle. Three Marines suffered minor gunshot wounds, while two Nigerians also were hit by bullets, military officials said.

During rioting Wednesday, protesters threw rocks at the hotel and threatened to attack it as part of protests against foreign troops and other foreigners in Somalia.

The rioting began after Mohammed Farah Aidid claimed that the U.S.-led coalition allowed Morgan’s men to attack supporters of an Aidid ally in Kismayu.