Somali fighting and rain ‘worsen drought crisis’
By Will Ross
BBC East Africa correspondent
26 October 2011 A combination of a military build-up in Somalia and heavy rains are making the humanitarian relief effort in the country even harder, the UN has warned. Some four million people in Somalia need food and other assistance because of the drought and famine. Eleven days ago, the Kenyan army entered Somalia to fight the Islamist insurgent group, al-Shabab. The deployment and weather have contributed to slowing the flow of Somalis to Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp. The week before the Kenyan army poured over the Somali border, 3,500 Somalis arrived in Kenya. The next week, only 100 people turned up. “The security situation remains precarious, particularly in Somalia’s southern regions, further complicating humanitarian operations,” UN humanitarian agency, Ocha, said in a statement. “The military build-up is causing anxiety among the civilian population. Movement of humanitarian personnel and supplies are also likely to be restricted,” it said. Aid agencies fear the rain is likely to lead to many people dying from diseases like cholera as they have already been weakened by malnutrition. The humanitarian effort is being severely hampered by corruption, especially in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, as well as by al-Shabab’s restrictions on Western aid agencies. […]
