Somalia famine refugees killed in looting at Mogadishu aid camp

At least 10 people dead after government troops, who witnesses claim also tried to steal food, opened fire at UN distribution site Somali government troops opened fire on famine refugees on Friday, killing at least 10 people, as both groups made a grab for food at a UN distribution site in Mogadishu, witnesses said. Witnesses accused government soldiers of starting the chaos by trying to steal some of the 290 tonnes of dry rations as aid workers tried to hand them out at Badbaado, the biggest camp in the Somali capital for famine victims. Refugees then joined in the scramble, prompting some soldiers to open fire, the witnesses said. “It was carnage. They ruthlessly shot everyone,” said Abdi Awale Nor, who has been living at the camp. “Dead bodies were left on the ground and other wounded bled to death.” David Orr, a spokesman for the World Food Programme, said the food distribution started smoothly at about 6am, but degenerated a couple hours later. “We got reports of trouble, looting. The trucks were overwhelmed by a mob of people. There were reports of some shots fired,” said Orr, who said he could not confirm any death tolls. Another refugee, Muse Sheik Ali, said soldiers tried to steal some of the food aid and refugees began to take the food. “Soldiers opened fire at them. Then soldiers took the food and people fled from the camp,” he said. Thousands of Somalis have flooded into Mogadishu from the drought-stricken south, walking much or all the way and seeing weakened loved ones perish from starvation or complications from malnutrition. The drought and famine in Somalia have killed more than 29,000 children under five in the past 90 days in southern Somalia alone, according to US estimates. The Somalia prime minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, visited the camp after the violence and said he was “deeply sorry”. He said an investigation would be held and promised harsh punishment for anyone found guilty. International groups face huge challenges in distributing food inside Somalia. The worst-hit part of the country is a no-go area for most aid groups because it is controlled by al-Qaida-linked insurgents, who deny there is a famine and who have allowed only the International Committee of the Red Cross to enter. More than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa are in need of immediate food aid. The UN says 640,000 children are acutely malnourished in Somalia, where the UN has declared five famine zones, including the refugee camps of Mogadishu. Witnesses said two WFP trucks were delivering aid when the chaos broke out. WFP often tries to do what it calls “wet feedings” in Somalia – giving out already made food like porridge – to limit the chances that it will be looted. But in this case it was dry rations, Orr said. Somali soldiers control just part of the capital and are poorly trained. “They fired on us as if we were their enemy,” said famine refugee Abidyo Geddi. “When people started to take the food then the gunfire started and everyone was being shot. We cannot stay here much longer. We don’t get much food and the rare food they bring causes death and torture.” Private militias – most of them politically connected – are competing to guard or steal food. At least four competing militias have the run of government-controlled areas of Mogadishu. The gunmen roar around in pickup trucks and wage battle over the wages they hope to be paid to either guard the aid or for the cash it will bring when it is stolen and sold. The insecurity amid the famine echoes the situation in 1992 that prompted deployment of a US-led multinational force to safeguard the delivery of food to Somalia’s starving. That international intervention collapsed in 1993 after two US helicopters were shot down and 18 servicemen were killed in the crashes and subsequent rescue attempt in the streets of Mogadishu. Famine Somalia Africa United Nations guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 5, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.