This morning, with a religious function held in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the fallen of 2 July 1993 in Mogadishu were remembered when the Italian command present in Somalia, as part of theOperation IBIS II, was involved in the clashes of the "Check Point Pasta" which cost the lives of second lieutenant Andrea Millevoi, sergeant Major Stefano Paolicchi and paratrooper Pasquale Baccaro. 31 were the wounded among the Italian soldiers.
The Holy Mass, officiated by the military ordinary for Italy, his most reverend excellency Monsignor Santo Marcianò, was attended by the Minister of Defence, the honorable Guido Crosetto, by sen. Maurizio Gasparri, vice president of the Senate, of the undersecretary of state for defence, sen. Isabella Rauti, the Chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the Army Chief of Staff, Army Corps General Pietro Serino and other Armed Forces Leaders, military authorities, active and retired , civil and religious, representatives of the Central Representative Council (CoCeR) Army and Combatant and Armed Associations.
Also present was the honorable lieutenant colonel Gianfranco Paglia, who was wounded during the clashes in Mogadishu and for this reason awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor.
At the end of the religious service, the Minister of Defence, after greeting all the participants, underlined "Today we remember our fallen in Mogadishu on 2 July 1993, an episode that recounts the courage of Italian soldiers and the continuity with which Italy has always worked to help friendly countries in need of security, freedom and peace."
The Chief of Staff of the Army, on the sidelines, highlighted how "Today, after 30 years, we gather around the memory of the fallen, their families, mutilated and wounded fellow soldiers, and we renew our commitment to serve the Republic, the Constitution and the Italians, to whom we feel we belong, with discipline and honor".
