UN Suspends Food Aid in Southern Somalia
VOA News 05 January 2010
The U.N. World Food Program is halting aid to much of southern Somalia, saying attacks and demands from armed groups have made its work impossible.
A WFP statement Tuesday says offices in six towns have been temporarily closed, and that food supplies, staff, and equipment have been moved to safer areas.
It says the closures will halt aid to about one million people.
The WFP has come under pressure from the Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which controls most of the affected territory.
Al-Shabab has ordered aid agencies to stop using women workers and to pay a $20,000 security fee. In November, it also ordered the WFP to stop importing food aid, saying it was hurting Somali farmers.
Last month, a Somali WFP security officer was shot dead in Beledweyne, one of the towns affected by Tuesday's announcement.
The WFP says it will continue distributing aid in the capital, Mogadishu, and other parts of the country.
Al-Shabab is waging a war against the Western-backed Somali government, with the goal of setting up an Islamic state. The United States considers al-Shabab a terrorist group and accuses it of having links to al-Qaida.
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