Posted by 30 years ago, 123 men from Company A and Company B of the 19th Malay Regiment, who were working for the United Nations as the Malaysian Battalion in Mogadishu, answered the call of duty to save more than 100 US Rangers who were stuck in Bakarra Market which is known as the Battle of Mogadishu.
The US Rangers, US Delta Forces, parts of the USN Seal, the 160th Special Operations Airborne Regiment, and the 10th Mountain Division were trying to arrest Somali warlord General Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his militias. However, the mission went wrong when three 160th SOAR Black Hawks were shot down, two inside the city limits and one outside the airport.
Gut Feeling
Even though the US military hadn’t told them beforehand, Colonel Abdul Latiff, the Commanding Officer of Malbatt 1, told Malaysian troops immediately to be ready for the Battle of Mogadishu.
His gut feeling turned out right. US Task Force Rangers asked Malbatt and Pakibatt (Pakistani Battalion), the only peacekeeping troops with armored vehicles, to send more people.
Kuala Lumpur’s Rejection
Col. Abdul Latiff immediately called Kuala Lumpur to ask for permission, but he was turned down. But when Col. Latiff saw how important the situation was, he insisted that Kuala Lumpur approve.
Col. Abdul Latiff could only say in later interviews that he saw men who needed to be saved. Col. Abdul Latiff might not have been able to forget that the Malaysian Army, back when it was called the Malayan Armed Forces, did something bad in another UN action prior.
In the Battle of Kindu, Congo, a Malayan Army Major told his men to stop fighting when hundreds of rebels circled the Kindu airport. When they saw 13 Italian air force crews, they thought they were their old colonial masters and attacked the airport. Later, all 13 pilots were killed, and at least one of their livers was sold at the Kindu market. When the rebels saw 2nd Lt. William Siebels from Europe, they almost killed him. The incident hurt diplomatic ties between Malaya and Italy for a while.
They gave in when Kuala Lumpur saw how much Col. Abdul Latiff wanted to help.
The Battle of Mogadishu
Col. Abdul Latiff later discovered that the US Army only wanted to take the Radpanzer Condor 4×4. But he asked his men to join because the Radpanzer Condor was hard to control.
In the end, he chose 123 men to go with him to Bakarra Market, the center of the Habd Gedir army.
He picked unmarried men as best he could because he knew there might be casualties.
But he had done something different with Private Mat Aznan Awang. Private Mat Aznan Awang was married and had a family. He was the best driver and knew his way around Mogadishu, even at night.
Mat Aznan Awang, a private, was happy. One of the men in his car remembered him saying, “Ini barulah pergi perang” (English: “Now we are going to war”).
All 32 of Company A and Company B’s trucks were filled with weapons. Even though Malaysian and US troops initially had trouble talking to each other, the operations went very well.
But the firefight was fierce as soon as they got close to Bakarra Market. Men from both sides talked about the sounds their Radpanzer Condors made when 7.62mm rounds hit the armor. Sometimes, rocket-propelled grenades also shot their armored trucks.
Lost Convoy
1 element of Company A, a group of four vehicles, took the wrong turn. The element went in the wrong direction because it took too long for the order to reach the ground forces.
Then, an RPG was used to hit 1 car, which stopped it from moving. The men then poured out of the vehicle. Then, a second car was shot near where the driver sat. Shrapnel hit the driver, Private Rizal, in the left foot and hurt him badly. He would sleep on a bed and lose consciousness several times during the night.
Two Condors were also hit by RPG fire in another area. Pvt. Mat Aznan Awang drove one of them. The RPG went right through the windshield of his car. He couldn’t get the protection cover to go down. He was severely hurt and was the first Malaysian soldier to die in a UN-backed battle. A neighbor said that the only thing left of him that his family has is his glasses, which are still stained with some of his blood. His daughter is a sergeant in the 19th Malay Regiment right now.
By morning, the rescue activities in the Pakistani Base in Mogadishu’s Olympic Stadium had ended.
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The Battle of Mogadishu Outcome
The Malaysian troops lost 1 person (Pvt. Mat Aznan Awang), had 9 people hurt, and destroyed 4 vehicles. US Little Birds disabled and destroyed all four vehicles so they wouldn’t fall into the hands of the militia.
Later, SP, or Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa, Malaysia’s greatest honor for bravery, was given to Pvt. Mat Aznan Awang. He was also given the rank of Corporal after his death. His body was taken back to his town in Baling, Kedah, called Kampung Parit Panjang, where he was buried with full military honors.
Pvt. Rizal made it through his trouble. The PGB, or Panglima Gagah Berani, is the second-highest award for bravery. It was given to him.
The US lost 17 people, and one of those who lived was killed by a rocket attack two days later.
It was believed that about 2,000 Somalis died that night.
The Hardest Battle
The battle was the most brutal for the US military since the Vietnam War and the hardest for the Malaysian Army since World War 2.
Col. Abdul Latiff would eventually be asked to go to the United States on government business. During his visit to the Pentagon, he was given the greatest honor, the same as what a visiting general would get.
Even though 4 vehicles and 1 person were lost in the fight, it showed the Malaysian Armed Forces how important it was to be able to work with other forces. This led to the creation of the United Nations Peacekeeper Training Centre in Port Dickson.
For a while, General Mohamed Farrah Aidid stayed in charge of Somalia. His men kept making trouble, which led to an ambush at K4 Roundabout that killed two more Malaysian troops. He died in a fight over who was in charge of the group.
In the end, the United Nations left Somalia. As a reward for Malaysia’s dedication, Lt. Gen. Aboo Samah was named Commander of the United Nations. His new job was both a blessing and a curse. He was able to handle Lt. Gen. Farrah Aideed, who had been his classmate in military school.
SOURCE: Malaysia Military Times
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