UN: Somalia Group Shuns Aid For The Starving

The people in southern Somalia desperately need food aid but the Al-Shabaab militant Islamist organization will not allow aid agencies to ship food into the area, a senior UN Official said Wednesday. 

 Al Shabaab controls much of Somalia outside the capital Mogadishu and the population in the countryside is bearing the brunt of one of the worst food crises to hit the Horn of Africa in decades.

“The Shabaab don’t want to accept food aid into the area, and this is a time when we actually need food to go into the area to have an impact on prices.” United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Mark Bowden told a press conference in New York today. “The Shabaab are accepting certain types of aid but they have a strong position against food aid…I would hope that [Al-Shabaab] would see the severity of the situation would require food assistance.”

UN agencies say the crisis is affecting more than 10 million people through out Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda, while other parts of the region experiencing “pre-famine conditions.”

Bowden says the root cause of the current situation is rising food prices, which have been exacerbated by the devastating effects of a drought on local farmers. 

“The drought of last year severely effected local food productions,” said Bowden. “That coupled with international food price rises has created a situation in Somalia where large proportions of the population both urban and rural are not in a position to meet their food needs and the levels of distress are increasing throughout the country.” 

Food costs in Somalia have shot up 270% in the past year alone, and although it remains available in markets, the dramatic increases have pushed prices well beyond the means of the most of the population.

 Bowden says the international community has to take immediate action before the situation deteriorates any further. 

“If we are not able to respond rapidly and effectively there will be many more lives lost as a result of malnutrition.”

Most recent reports indicate 30 % of Somali children suffer from global acute malnutrition, a number expected to grow significantly in the coming months.

Uganda Bombings Highlight Need For Vigilance In Africa, Says Administration Official

Philip Bunnell - Talk Radio News Service

The U.S. must maintain vigilance over the Horn of Africa following an upswing in violence from the Somali terrorist organization Al Shabbab, an Obama administration official told reporters Tuesday.

The briefing came in the wake of Al Shabbab’s July 11 bombings in Kampala, Uganda during a World Cup party.  The official said that this is the first time the terrorist group has carried out attacks outside of Somalia.  

“Al Shabaab has always engaged in domestic terrorism,” said the administration official, “but have now manifested outside of Somalia.”

Al Shabaab has been fighting the weakened Somali transitional government for control, and has hijacked foreign aid and launched attacks against African Union forces assisting the Somali government, of which Uganda is a part of. The official emphasized that “we need other countries in the region to know that the United States stands by them,” and noted that it is imperative to “stabilize the transitional government” in Somalia, and “continue to provide assistance to Uganda, Burundi, and Somali refugees.”  The official also said that the FBI has sent a team to assist Ugandan law enforcement in their investigation, and that there was no advance warning of the attack, saying that the United States is “working very closely with countries in the region.”

The administration official also voiced caution concerning Al Shabaab’s ties to Al Qaeda, noting that “their agenda is similar to Al Qaeda.”

“Ties have always existed… Individuals in Al Shabaab have associations with Al Qaeda in East Africa and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. There is a lot of bundling together of individuals at the top of these organizations,”according to the official.

The official said that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is the most operationally active group and that the administration was concerned about Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen and the Horn of Africa.

The official also touched upon several United States citizens who have travelled to Somalia and joined Al Shabaab, saying that the FBI and law enforcement agencies have watched those citizens “very closely.”  Several Somali-Americans from Minnesota have joined Al Shabaab, including one who participated in a suicide bombing.