UN ships dock with Somali aid
2007-11-19 18:04
Mogadishu - UN ships carrying aid to Somalia docked under French naval escort on Monday as part of a new strategy to deter pirates threatening food shipments to Somalis suffering from conflict and drought.
The shipments arrived against a background of spiralling
violence in the Horn of Africa nation, where at least four
people in a refugee settlement were killed when a landmine explosion prompted government soldiers to open fire on Sunday.
Aid workers and witnesses in the port of Merka, 100km south of the capital Mogadishu, said two ships chartered
by the World Food Programme were offloading food supplies
with a French warship standing guard offshore.
An eyewitness said: "I can see two ships offloading food that includes maize, beans, porridge and cooking oil. I can also see a huge warship somewhere off the coast."
'Piracy has damaged our ability'
World Food Programme executive director Josette Sheeran said: "This operation comes at a critical time for the Somali
people who have been devastated by some of the worst conflict
and drought seen in years.
"Piracy has damaged our ability to reach Somalia's most
vulnerable people. We, like France, hope other nations will
urgently step up and follow the French example."
WFP said France's operation was expected to last two months.
UN officials say an estimated 1.2 million Somalis are
affected by food shortages.
Piracy is rampant off the coast, one of the world's most
dangerous. Pirates have mounted at least 26 attacks on ships off
Somalia, including 13 hijackings, this year alone. Of those
attacked, three were ships carrying WFP food assistance.