Food aid halted in Somalia's south over attacks

SOMALIA’S BELEAGUERED population received a further blow yesterday when the World Food Programme announced it was suspending operations in the south of the country because of “unprecedented and inhumane attacks” and threats and demands from a hardline Islamist group.

The WFP said one million people, nearly all of them in areas run by the al-Shabab militia, would no longer receive food rations.

Besides problems of insecurity, al-Shabab had demanded that the UN agency remove all women from their jobs and pay $20,000 (€13,900) every six months to ensure “security” in the region. When the WFP refused, it was given a deadline of January 1st to cease operations.

“The unacceptable demands and harassment of our staff have made it impossible to continue reaching many of the most vulnerable people in southern Somalia,” said Peter Smerdon, spokesman for WFP.

The agency said it would continue to provide assistance to 1.8 million people in the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere in the country.

Somalia is heavily reliant on food aid. The WFP says only 30 per cent of the country’s needs have been met from local production in the past five years. Aid is crucial to fill the gap as commercially imported food is too expensive for many Somalis, especially those displaced by the conflict, and access to rebel-held areas is difficult and dangerous for transporters.

At least four WFP staff have been killed in the last 18 months, and several of the agency’s offices have been attacked.

The WFP said it was “deeply concerned about rising hunger and suffering” that would be caused by the suspension, and hoped the situation would be temporary. – (Guardian service)