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Old 02-20-2005, 17:29 PM   #7 (permalink)
troung
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The Somali woman is carrying an MP-44 and some of the others in the picture had MAS-49/56s, Beretta SMGs and other older weapons. The picture was taken during the Ogaden war after the defeat of the Somali invasion force and the destruction of their army left the country at the mercy of Ethiopian/Cuban forces. The Somalian army's heavy equipment (tanks, artillery and such) was destoryed through air strikes and ground combat and the door was left open so to say. So it was cheaper to dig up old weapons and hand them off to locals to fight Ethiopian T-55s backed with MiG-23BNs, MiG-21MFs, F-5A/Es, Mi-24As and heavy artillery. With the influx of Soviet aid during the Ogaden war the Ethiopian arm became the largest in Africa. Before the war it is noteworthy that Ethiopia was an American ally and Somalia was in team Russia but during the war it switched. Ethiopia won.

Pictures like that in a way did lead to say Blackhawk down...
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