Bungled U.S. Raid Sparks Complaints From Western Aid Groups in Somalia

Western charities operating here have moved further toward outright opposition to U.S. and U.N. policy in Somalia, where U.S. troops Monday bungled a raid to capture followers of a fugitive warlord.

The head of the British-based charity Save the Children Fund said U.S. troops are provoking resentment among Somalis and have lost sight of their original mission--to bring peace and help restore a government.

In the operation, U.S. Army Rangers clambered down ropes from attack helicopters into buildings in Mogadishu belonging to the U.N. Development Program and the French aid group International Action Against Hunger.

The elite Rangers, seeking lieutenants of warlord Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid, blasted down walls, kicked in doors and destroyed radio equipment before seizing three foreign aid workers and six Somali U.N. guards.

International Action Against Hunger demanded that the United Nations clear up questions about the use of force. The French group denounced the use of its headquarters to stage a military operation and sought an explanation from the U.N. special envoy in Somalia.

U.N. officials criticized the staffs of the U.N. Development Program and the French aid group for living in buildings they were not authorized to use.