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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 18, 1993                   TAG: 9301180009
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/7   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA                                LENGTH: Short

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1ST U.S. TROOPS SCHEDULED TO LEAVE SOMALIA TUESDAY

The U.S. Marines will send their first combat troops home Tuesday as the United States moves toward transferring military control of Somalia to a U.N. command, perhaps within two weeks, a spokesman said Sunday.

But the spokesman, Marine Col. Fred Peck, stressed that the Security Council had not yet adopted resolutions necessary for the transfer or decided on a command structure and the rules of engagement.

The announcement of the departure of a battalion of 850 Marines came on one of the quietest days in Somalia since U.S. troops landed Dec. 9 to restore order in a nation that has lost 350,000 people to famine, fighting and disease in the past year. An additional 2 million people are considered at risk.

For the first time, Peck told the daily briefing: "I don't have anything to announce today [on fighting]. It was a very quiet day."

In still another indication of improving security, a convoy of 25 trucks carrying nearly 400 tons of food set out for the first time over 400 treacherous miles to western Somalia. French troops accompanied the convoy.

"The roads have not been used," said Brenda Barton, spokeswoman for the World Food Program. "It's much cheaper if we can manage to move food by road on a regular basis. That means we're going to be able to gradually wind down the airlift operation."

Mohamed Farah Aidid, one of Somalia's most powerful warlords, predicted a 3-day-old cease-fire among the country's warring factions would hold.

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