Somalia Militias Hamper Aid Distribution - UN‎

By Somalilandtimes network

NAIROBI, Feb. 13, 2006 – Militias in Somalia are looting shipments of aid for drought victims and forcing aid drivers to pay bribes, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Attacks by Somali pirates in recent months have caused aid agencies to start transporting relief supplies over land and the convoys have been subjected to pillaging by gun-toting militias at hundreds of road blocks across the country.

"We need across the board support and commitment of everyone to ensure access and protection so that we can alleviate the suffering of Somalis," Maxwell Gaylard, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said in a statement.

"We cannot do so if the food convoys, medical supplies and other critically needed assistance are targeted by opportunists and so called uncontrolled militiamen," he added.

A severe drought sweeping through the Horn of Africa has worsened the plight of a people whose country barely functions.

Somalia has been without a central government for over 14 years. It is estimated that 1.5 million Somalis are in need of assistance, mostly in the country's south and central parts.

Amanda di Lorenzo, information officer for the U.N.'s humanitarian coordination office (OCHA), says the security situation in Somalia makes it difficult to have sustainable operations.

"It's a problem that has been ongoing for years, but the drought has exacerbated the situation," di Lorenzo said.

An interim Somali government was formed in 2004, but has proved fragile and fractious. It has been unable to rein in the powerful warlords and their militias.

Source: Reuters

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