Bruno Loi

Bruno Loi
Born	(1941-08-23) 23 August 1941 (age 84)
Allegiance	Italy
Branch	Esercito Italiano
Years of service	1960–2004
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	UNOSOM II
Battles / wars	Battle of Checkpoint Pasta
Awards	Knight Grand Cross, OMRI Officer, OMI Officer, Legion of Merit

Bruno Loi (born 23 August 1941) is a retired Italian Army lieutenant general, who served as commander of the Italian forces in UNOSOM II from May to September 1993. ^[1]

Career

Service in Somalia

Loi was infuriated as the result of an American operation in the Italian zone of control on 22 June 1993, since it took place without his permission. ^[2] Loi was the commanding officer for the Italian forces in the Battle of Checkpoint Pasta. ^[3] He later re-occupied Checkpoint Pasta after the battle, to do this he used diplomacy to persuade Somali general Mohamed Farrah Aidid to withdraw, annoying the United States, who viewed diplomacy as a waste of effort and advocated a forceful solution. ^[4] The United Nations asked Italy to remove Loi from his position in July on charges of insubordination, a request which Italy denied. ^[5] These incidents contributed to a considerable straining of relations between Italy and the rest of the United Nations peacekeeping force. ^[6] Loi served out the rest of his term as commander, returning to Italy in September. ^[6]

References

1. Tripodi, Paolo (2 August 1999). The Colonial Legacy in Somalia: Rome and Mogadishu: from Colonial Administration to Operation Restore Hope. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 157. ISBN   978-0333763513.
2. Rutherford, Kenneth (15 October 2008). Humanitarianism Under Fire: The US and UN Intervention in Somalia. Lynne Riener. p. 144. ISBN   978-1565492608.
3. Nigro, Vincenzo (5 July 2013). "Somalia, la battaglia al check-point Pasta. Il racconto del generale Loi vent'anni dopo". Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 9 July 2020.
4. Young, Peter; Jesser, Peter (13 October 2017). The Media and the Military. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 218. ISBN   978-0333719046.
5. Clarke, Walter S.; Herbst, Jeffrey (7 March 1997). Learning From Somalia: The Lessons Of Armed Humanitarian Intervention. Routledge. p. 143. ISBN   978-0813327945.
6. Woodhouse, Tom; Bruce, Robert; Dando, Malcolm (19 January 1998). Peacekeeping and Peacemaking: Towards Effective Intervention in Post-Cold War Conflicts. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 176. ISBN   978-0333669228.