Somalia: Al-Shabaab Should Not Block Aid, Says U.S.

United States Department of State (Washington, DC)
Charlene Porter
22 July 2011

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Washington — The United States, the United Nations and other partners in the international community stand ready to help an estimated 3 million or more Somalis who are suffering from famine, but the anti-Western terrorist group al-Shabaab on July 22 tried to deny the existence of food shortages and announced it will resume a ban on assistance from the international community that has been in place since January 2010.
Weeks ago, al-Shabaab, loosely affiliated with al-Qaida, said it would allow food rations to enter its territory.
"I think this brutal and senseless decision shows al-Shabaab's true colors," said Bruce Wharton, deputy assistant secretary of state for public diplomacy in the State Department's Bureau of African Affairs. "They will continue to wage war against the people of Somalia even as the United States and the international community seek to provide food, medicine and other humanitarian assistance." Wharton and other U.S. officials provided these details at a July 22 briefing at the Foreign Press Center in Washington.
But al-Shabaab does not speak with a single voice, according to Nancy Lindborg, assistant administrator of the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance of the U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID and its partners in the region are pushing to make aid deliveries in the two areas of Somalia -- Lower Shabelle and southern Bakool -- where famine was declared by U.N. officials July 20 after a careful evaluation of conditions regarding food supplies, deaths and the extent of malnutrition.
"We are working with our U.N. and [nongovernmental organization] partners to aggressively test where we are able to reach all parts of southern Somalia where there are needs," Lindborg said. The needs in these regions have become urgent, and officials are unequivocal in saying that conditions will become worse before they become better. While famine conditions exist in a limited geographic region of Somalia now, desperation is likely to spread within Somalia and elsewhere in the Horn of Africa if a rapid response is not mounted, officials predict.
"Ultimately, al-Shabaab is the major problem in terms of enabling life-saving assistance to reach the people of Somalia," Lindborg said. Humanitarian workers who are testing the limits of al-Shabaab's cooperation are in danger as they try to help others, she acknowledged.
The al-Shabaab spokesman said humanitarian agencies are banned from al-Shabaab territories because they have "hidden agendas," according to a July 22 report from Reuters News Service.
A representative of the World Food Programme in Nairobi told Reuters that his agency's teams will be pushing the boundaries to deliver aid. "We know it will be risky but we're going to go with it," said David Orr.
The U.S. officials said humanitarian agencies must have nothing less than "safe and unfettered access" to all those people who need their help without interference.
Emergency monitoring tools developed in recent years have predicted the development of this crisis in the Horn of Africa, U.S. officials said, so the United States and other donors had pre-positioned some supplies. Even with that planning, an estimated 11 million people in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are facing food insecurity. The worst drought in 60 years is one cause of the crisis, but a nonfunctional government in Somalia and the poor policies of al-Shabaab are also cited by officials as factors in worsening food shortages.
Lack of food and water has been driving Somalis across borders, creating greater demands on food supplies in neighboring countries also stressed by drought. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Reuben Brigety said neighboring nations have risen to the challenge of this humanitarian crisis. "We are grateful for the generous response of the governments of Ethiopia and Kenya," Brigety said. "We will continue to stand by them as they face this crisis."
Brigety was in the Horn of Africa just days ago and met with regional officials. He says they are making plans to expand existing refugee camps, and that they will not prevent anyone from fleeing Somalia and entering their territories in search of relief.
"In addition to the hundreds of thousands of refugees who are already in Kenya and Ethiopia, new arrivals are coming in at tremendous rates," Wharton said. "Many of these refugees are suffering from life-threatening malnutrition."
The scope of this humanitarian crisis may include more than the estimated 11 million experiencing food insecurity. The same drought is affecting Eritrea, but its government won't reveal information about how the country is being affected and whether lives are endangered. Wharton urged Eritrea to work with the international community in coping with this crisis.
Officials said the United States has already committed almost $460 million to assist in this humanitarian disaster and urged other international partners to step in with assistance. As the international community contends with this immediate crisis, U.S. humanitarian agencies will be advocating a long-term approach that could help reduce the possibility of famine in East Africa and other vulnerable regions.
The Obama administration is promoting its Feed the Future policy, which is helping poor nations develop their agricultural sectors to become more productive and provide greater food security for their populations.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/iipdigital-en/index.html)

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