Wednesday, 20 July 2011
The UN officially declared parts of Somalia southern regions of Bakool and Lower Shabelle were suffering famine, with up to 350,000 people affected. (File photo)
“The declaration of famine in parts of Somalia by the UN is welcome and we would like to see aid coming to the people,” a senior Shebab official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Aid agencies pulled out of southern Somalia in early 2010 following threats against its staff and increasingly draconian rules imposed on its activities by the Shebab, who are listed as a terror group by Washington.
The Shebab announced earlier this month that they would allow humanitarian organizations to provide aid in the regions they control.
However, the hard-line rebel official warned that Islamic values must be maintained.
“Aid must be provided purely on a humanitarian basis, and the religious value of Somalis as Muslims must be respected,” the official added.
“The Shebab mujahidin were always ready to assist the Islamic people of the nation to the best of their ability, and will cooperate with anyone assisting the victims of the famine,” he said.
The UNICEF airlifted the first emergency aid supplies into the rebel-held town of Baidoa last week.
But Johnnie Carson, US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, stressed that the Shebab’s responsibility in the suffering was clear.
“Al-Shebab’s activities have clearly made the current situation much worse,” Carson told reporters Tuesday.
Meanwhile Somalia’s transitional government warned the country faced tough times ahead.
“This is going to get worse for the Somali people, before it gets better,” said Somalia’s Prime Minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali.
“I ask the world to address the fundamental causes of this humanitarian catastrophe, and urgently ask for the resources needed to rebuild the Somali state in the midst of an ongoing conflict,” he said in a statement.
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