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| 'Black Hawk Down' Somali leader seized |
| Wednesday, October 19, 2005 |
A Somali suspected of leading militia forces during the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" battle has been arrested in Sweden for war crimes.
Abdi Hassan Awale, 57, was attending a conference on development in the Horn of Africa when Somali exiles recognised him and reported him to police.
Mr Awale, also known as Abdi Qeybdiid, was a commander in warlord Farah Aidid's militia when they fought a 19-hour battle in which 18 US troops died in Mogadishu on October 3, 1993.
Although a police spokesman would not confirm the suspect's identity, he said the Somali was arrested at a hotel in the university town of Lund and taken to the west coast city of Gothenburg to be questioned by prosecutors.
Mr Awale was arrested on suspicion of genocide, although police did not specify what crimes he had allegedly committed.
Hans Olvebro, head of the Swedish national police's war crimes unit, said: "The guy came here for a conference and some other Somalis in Sweden went to the police in Gothenburg and told them about him and brought a videotape." |
posted by Jay Are @ 12:30:00 AM   |
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