Battle of Checkpoint Pasta

Battle of Checkpoint Pasta
	Part of the Somali Civil War and the UNOSOM II mission
	; Italian Fiat-OTO Melara Type 6614 Armored Personnel Carrier in a street of Mogadishu (1993)
Date	2 July 1993
Location	Mogadishu, Somalia
Result	SNA victory Italians negotiate ceasefire and withdraw; Insurgents seize numerous checkpoints;
Belligerents
Italy; Somalia	SNA
Commanders and leaders
Bruno Loi; Ali Mahdi Muhammad	Mohamed Farrah Aidid
Strength
800 Italian troops + 400 Somali policemen	Around 600 rebel Somali militiamen
Casualties and losses
3 killed; 29 wounded	67 killed; 187 wounded

The Battle of Checkpoint Pasta, sometimes called the Battle of the Pasta Factory, was a firefight in Mogadishu between Italian troops under UNOSOM II and insurgents of the Somali National Alliance (SNA), and is remembered for being the first all-out battle involving the Italian Army since the end of the Second World War.

The battle took place near the Italian checkpoint called "Pasta", because it was located near an abandoned Barilla pasta factory across the intersection of Imperial Street and 21 October Street, after an ambush on Italian forces was set up by Somali insurgents led by General Mohamed Farrah Aidid.

Following ceasefire talks with the SNA after four hours of fighting, Italian troops withdrew. Insurgent forces then seized several checkpoints and controlled nearly a square mile of Mogadishu previously held by UNOSOM. However, on 9 July, the Italians re-occupied the checkpoints, including Checkpoint Pasta.