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Aid workers in southern
Somali town moved to Kenya |
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NAIROBI(November
25, 2009) - Aid agencies operating in southern Somalia
said on Monday they had relocated 12 expatriate aid workers following
a deterioration in the security situation.
Rebel group Al Shabaab controls much of southern Somalia and parts
of the capital Mogadishu. The group is fighting government troops
and African Union peacekeepers to impose its own harsh version of
sharia law throughout Somalia.
The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) and World Vision, two of the
few international aid agencies working in southern Somalia, said their
international staff had left the town of Buale for security reasons.
"Six international staff working for WFP and six staff from World
Vision have been relocated for security reasons," said Peter
Smerdon, WFP's regional spokesman based in Kenya.
The nature of the threat was not disclosed, but fighting between two
rival insurgent groups has been spreading fast in the south of the
Horn of Africa nation.
Al Shabaab seized control of the southern town of Afmadow at the weekend
from rival Hizbul Islam insurgents in clashes that killed at least
12 fighters.
The aid agencies said the move would not interrupt key programmes
such as the therapeutic feeding of over 250,000 children in the south
Somali region of Juba.
"Our national staff will continue carrying these programmes forward
as we assess the security situation in the region," said Amanda
Koech, World Vision's spokeswoman for Somalia.
After a nearly three-year insurgency and a prolonged dry spell, Somalia
is struggling with one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and
more than a third of the population depend on food aid.
Increasing insecurity in Somalia continues to force thousands to flee
their homeland into neighbouring Kenya.
Some 19,000 civilians have been killed by clashes since the start
of 2007. While some residents credit the insurgents with restoring
a semblance of order in some areas, al Shabaab has alienated many
Somalis who are traditionally moderate Muslims. |
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