Peacekeeping· Somalia Intervention (Op RESTORE HOPE)
Merka Amphibious Op
The operation at Merka was an amphibious move to secure the coastal town south of Mogadishu, extending Operation Restore Hope to another of the Somali ports through which relief could flow.
The Marines used their amphibious capability to land and secure Merka, opening the town and establishing control over a coastal point that anchored the humanitarian effort in the region. Securing Merka was part of the broad effort to spread the intervention across the relief sectors of southern Somalia, the Marines projecting force from the sea to take the coastal objectives that supported the relief mission. The operation met little organized resistance, the Marines establishing their presence and opening the town for the distribution of aid. Merka was one of the amphibious objectives that extended the Marine reach along the Somali coast, a demonstration of the Corps' ability to secure widely separated coastal points in support of the relief effort across the famine-stricken south.
Record no. 823