Suspected Somali Ex-Militia Leader Held
A Somali suspected of being a militia leader during the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” battle in which 18 Americans died was arrested in Sweden on suspicion of war crimes, police said.
The man, identified as onetime Somalian Interior Minister Abdi Hassan Awale, was taken into custody after Somalis living in Sweden recognized him and told police, said Gillian Nilsson, the organizer of a conference Awale was attending.
Awale is believed to have been a commander in Mohammed Farah Aidid’s militia when it fought American troops in Mogadishu on Oct. 3, 1993.
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