Keeping It In The Family

MOGADISHU, Somalia: Presaging a new wave of Somalian violence, the son of a dead Somali warlord took his father's place on Sunday, vowing to preserve the political structure created by his father. Hussein Mohamed Aidid, a former U.S. Marine reservist, served with U.S. forces sent to Somalia in 1992. His father was killed last Thursday. Aidid was named interim president of Somalia by his clan and promptly promised to pacify the troubled nation by eliminating his rivals. Aidid's men killed two gunmen of Ali Madhi's faction Sunday, just days after two other warlords declared a unilateral cease fire. Somalia's bloody factional battles, which have triggered mass starvation, have caused the deaths of 350,000 people since the government disintegrated in 1991. With a younger, equally agressive Aidid in power, the bloodshed is likely to continue. -->