# Belgian and Italian troops in Somalia, 1993: the abuse cases

> The abuse cases against Belgian paratroopers in Kismayo and Italian troops in 1993, revealed in 1997: the photographs, the trials, the generals' resignations and the Gallo commission's findings.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/history/belgian-italian-troops-somalia-1993/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

Canada, [Belgium](/en/diaspora/belgium/) and Italy all faced scandals over how their soldiers had treated Somalis during the UN-backed missions of 1992–1994. The Canadian case is covered in [The Somalia affair](/en/history/somalia-affair-canada-1993/), and the missions in [The UN intervention, 1992 to 1995](/en/history/un-intervention-1992-1995/). This page records the Belgian and Italian cases as the sources report them. Individual soldiers who were not public figures are not named here.

## Belgium: the paratroopers in Kismayo

Belgium's paratroopers served around Kismayo (see [The UN intervention](/en/history/un-intervention-1992-1995/)). In April 1997 the Brussels daily *Het Laatste Nieuws* published photographs given to it by a former paratrooper, among them soldiers holding a Somali over a fire and a paratrooper urinating on a dead Somali. Two paratroopers were arrested and charged with assault and battery. Defence Minister Jean-Pol Poncelet said: "We will prosecute this without mercy. Such people do not belong in the army." The military auditor, General Jean-Yves Minne, said the most serious allegation concerned a Somali accused of theft who was reportedly locked in a container without water for two days and found dead ([*The Irish Times*, 17 April 1997](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/belgian-atrocities-exposed-1.63206)).

On 30 June 1997 a military court acquitted the two paratroopers charged over the fire photograph, finding that the incident was a "playful game meant to discourage the child from stealing". Prosecutors had asked for a month in jail for each ([*Spokesman-Review*, AP, 1 July 1997](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1997/jul/01/court-troops-playing-not-torturing-boy/)).

## Italy: the photographs and the Gallo commission

In June 1997 the Italian newsweekly *Panorama* published photographs and interviews describing torture and abuse by Italian soldiers in 1993, including a photo it said showed a soldier raping a Somali woman. A former infantryman told the magazine that after an Italian lieutenant was shot near their camp, Italian and German troops fired machine guns and grenades at the town of Jalalaqsi for an hour, although the villagers had not been involved. Generals Bruno Loi and Carmine Fiore, who had led the contingent in 1993, asked to be relieved of their commands, and Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government set up a commission of inquiry ([*Deseret News*, AP, 15 June 1997](https://www.deseret.com/1997/6/15/19317836/2-italian-generals-resign-over-torture-of-somalis)).

The commission, chaired by Ettore Gallo, a former president of the Constitutional Court, questioned more than 100 people. It reported in August 1997 that "some isolated cases of torture and racism did occur", that they did not compromise the mission's humanitarian spirit, and that top commanders had no role ([*Deseret News*, AP, 10 August 1997](https://www.deseret.com/1997/8/10/19355036/cases-of-torture-racism-in-somalia-by-italian-troops-are-deemed-isolated)).

## Sources differ

- **The Belgian fire case.** The prosecution sought one month in jail; the court acquitted (AP).
- **Italy.** *Panorama* published photographs and soldiers' accounts of abuse; the Gallo commission called the cases isolated and cleared top commanders.

## Read the primary sources yourself

- *The Irish Times*, "Belgian atrocities exposed" (1997): [article](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/belgian-atrocities-exposed-1.63206).
- *Deseret News* (AP), "Cases of torture, racism in Somalia by Italian troops are deemed isolated" (1997): [article](https://www.deseret.com/1997/8/10/19355036/cases-of-torture-racism-in-somalia-by-italian-troops-are-deemed-isolated).

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