Force Feeding

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MOVING CAUTIOUSLY INTO TERRITORY CONTROLLED by clan militias and trigger-happy bandits, the first armed U.N. forces arrived in Somalia to guard relief shipments. U.S. planes flew in 60 troops, the advance team from a 500-man Pakistani battalion expected to arrive this week. Their initial assignment will be to secure the airport and harbor of Mogadishu, the capital, so food supplies can flow safely.

To back them up, the U.S. stationed four warships carrying helicopters and 2,100 Marines off the coast of Somalia. A Pentagon spokesman said the force was there only to support the airlift of the Pakistani troops. Assistant Secretary of State Herman Cohen insisted the U.S. "has no intention of landing a Marine expedition."

In the Somalian hinterland, U.S. cargo planes continued an airlift that has delivered more than 3,000 tons of food to remote villages since Aug. 28. But last week flights to one town, Belet Huen, were suspended after a plane was hit by a bullet.