NBC Nightly News - 1992-12-10 - 1 of 2

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] York.

[0:02] >> Good evening from the Magadushu airport

[0:04] where tonight it happened. French forces

[0:07] and American forces fired on a Somali

[0:09] truck, killing two civilians and

[0:12] wounding at least seven others. The

[0:14] shooting came tonight as the forces of

[0:16] Operation Restore Hope were fanning out

[0:18] in this capital city of Somalia trying

[0:20] to widen their security zone as they

[0:23] prepare to move into the interior

[0:24] tomorrow with food and medical supplies.

[0:31] The victims were riding in a beat up

[0:33] truck when the shooting occurred.

[0:35] Frenchorn legionnaires and US Marines

[0:37] were manning a roadblock on a street

[0:38] with no lights.

[0:43] According to the French, the truck raced

[0:45] through, knocking over their

[0:47] legionnaires.

[0:49] It was early evening but dark. It

[0:52] appears to have been a tragic accident.

[0:55] A bloody ending to what has been a tense

[0:56] but mostly peaceful 36 hours in

[0:59] Moadishu.

[1:01] US forces were in the air and on the

[1:03] ground all day securing the Somalian

[1:06] capital, which is still divided between

[1:08] two warlords. Marines raided a compound

[1:11] near the US embassy and recovered a huge

[1:14] cache of weapons. I was at the site of

[1:16] tonight's shooting just a few hours

[1:18] before it happened on the main road to

[1:20] the American embassy. The American

[1:22] forces of course have come here to help

[1:24] the Somalians, but to do that they've

[1:26] had to become a kind of occupational

[1:27] army to make the area more secure. So to

[1:31] help the people of Somalia, first they

[1:33] have to make life more difficult for

[1:34] them.

[1:37] At this site, the French foreign

[1:38] legionnaires were especially sullen and

[1:40] tough, chasing away the curious Somali,

[1:46] pointing their weapons when rocks were

[1:47] thrown. A short while later, they opened

[1:50] fire on the truck.

[1:54] Earlier today, Robert Oakley, President

[1:55] Bush's diplomatic representative here,

[1:57] announced that he would meet with the

[1:59] two major warlords of Somalia at their

[2:01] request tomorrow morning.

[2:03] >> It will be a long, tough process, Tom,

[2:05] and one cannot predict success with

[2:08] certainty, but this is a very important

[2:09] first step. and the combination of

[2:12] humanitarian action, military action,

[2:15] and political action may actually

[2:17] produce a possible result.

[2:20] >> How that meeting will be affected by

[2:21] tonight's shooting, if at all, is

[2:24] unknown at this time.

[2:26] >> It's important to remember that Moadishu

[2:28] is a city with only a primitive

[2:30] communication system, almost no street

[2:32] lights, and of course, it is a city that

[2:34] has been living in a state of war for

[2:36] many years now. You add to that a few

[2:38] hundred American Marines and French

[2:40] foreign legionnaires who are suddenly

[2:42] the policemen. Well, it was an accident

[2:44] waiting to happen. NBC's Fred Francis is

[2:47] at the Pentagon tonight. Fred, what's

[2:48] the reaction from the Department of

[2:50] Defense?

[2:51] >> Well, they're stung obviously, Tom. They

[2:52] expected this to happen earlier. In

[2:54] fact, both the French and the Americans

[2:56] have the Beirut experience. One senior

[2:58] Pentagon official came into my office

[3:00] when he confirmed that Marines were

[3:03] involved in the shooting and he said,

[3:05] "But you have to remember Beirut in '

[3:06] 83. It was a truck and we didn't have

[3:09] our weapons loaded then." Uh they

[3:11] reiterate they would not have come to

[3:13] Somalia. The Marines would not have

[3:15] gone. This building would not be behind

[3:16] this effort had the rules of engagement

[3:19] not been changed. That Marines should be

[3:21] permitted to have their rifles loaded

[3:23] and shoot when they feel threatened.

[3:25] They felt threatened tonight. It's

[3:26] unfortunate,

[3:28] >> Fred. We don't get very quick

[3:31] communication here with the military

[3:33] officials. Any word on any kind of

[3:35] American casualties whatsoever?

[3:37] >> Tom, I just got off the phone with the

[3:39] Central Command a little while ago and

[3:40] spoke to a senior official there. He

[3:42] mentioned no American casualties. Uh, I

[3:44] think we'd have heard it. I I'm going to

[3:47] venture, you know, a judgment that there

[3:49] probably were not, Tom.

[3:52] >> All right. Thank you very much, Fred

[3:53] France.