Irregular Somali forces/Volunteers During the October 3–4 battle, SNA forces fought alongside hundreds of irregulars—U.S. Special Envoy to Somalia Robert B. Oakley called them "volunteers"—who were mostly untrained civilians-turned-combatants, many of whom were women and children with grievances against UNOSOM troops. Human rights abuses and killings by peacekeepers, U.S. military airstrikes in heavily populated neighborhoods resulting in civilian casualties, forced evictions for UN compound expansions and the difficulty of receiving legal recourse for wrongs committed by United Nations forces all inflamed the growing animosity of the civilian population of Mogadishu. In the days preceding the battle, Somali anger against UNOSOM troops was stoked when American mortar crews had fired shells into the dense neighborhoods surrounding their base, killing a family of eight and injuring 34. This enraged the citizens of South Mogadishu, according to American journalist Scott Peterson.
Irregular Somali forces/Volunteers During the October 3–4 battle SNA forces fought alongside hundreds of irregulars—US Special Envoy to Somalia Robert B Oakley called them "volunteers"—who were mostly untrained civilians-turned-combatants many of whom were women and children with grievances against UNOSOM troops Human rights abuses and killings by peacekeepers US military airstrikes in heavily populated neighborhoods resulting in civilian casualties forced evictions for UN compound expansions and the difficulty of receiving legal recourse for wrongs committed by United Nations forces all inflamed the growing animosity of the civilian population of Mogadishu In the days preceding the battle Somali anger against UNOSOM troops was stoked when American mortar crews had fired shells into the dense neighborhoods surrounding their base killing a family of eight and injuring 34 This enraged the citizens of South Mogadishu according to American journalist Scott Peterson