MOGADISHU -- U.N. peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu were put on maximum alert Sunday after intelligence reports indicated the threat of possible attacks from Moslem extremists.
U.N. spokesman Maj. David Stockwell told reporters Saturday that Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed, whose supporters are blamed for the deaths of more than 70 U.N. peacekeepers, would be held responsible if the attacks occurred.
Stockwell said intelligence reports indicated the extremists were experts in car bombings. He did not specify their nationalities or say how many fundamentalists were involved.
The Somali capital has been tense since the United States announced recently it intended to resume street patrols and remove roadblocks erected by warring clan groups. Authorities said the moves were necessary for the resumption of humanitarian services, which have been suspended for weeks.
Aideed has warned of bloody confrontations in the streets of Mogadishu if the peacekeepers resumed patrols.
U.N. soldiers have been confined to base since early October, when a major battle resulted in the deaths of 18 U.S. soldiers and one Malaysian peacekeeper.
Meanwhile, a memorial service was held Sunday for a U.N. worker slain by a group of Somali gunmen attempting to steal a U.N. vehicle.
Kai Lincoln, 23, who worked for UNICEF in New York and volunteered for the mission in Somalia, was killed during the carjacking incident Saturday in Mogadishu. Two other foreigners, Shirley Brownel of Liberia and Lars Anderson of Norway, were wounded in the attack.
The three were heading to U.N. headquarters from their residential compound near the airport when four gunmen attacked them. One of the carjackers was killed and the others fled with the vehicle.
