Somali Deputy Prime Minister's Useful Advice to NGOs - "Ignore Threats"

by Michael Bear · 2008-10-13 12:20:00 UTC
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At some point, there will be an optimistic story written about Somalia, but today isn't the day. Earlier this month, a leader of Al Shabaab - perhaps the most extreme of all Somali insurgent groups - explicitly threatened two NGOs (CARE and IMC), causing them to suspend operations in part of south and central Somalia. According to OCHA, this will affect over a million Somalis who rely on these programs.

In response, the Somali Deputy Prime Minister had this useful advice: "The threats come from small groups who are not bothered by the suffering of the Somali people, therefore the [aid] agencies should ignore them."

Which is well and good, except for the fact that 24 aid workers have already been killed in Somalia this year alone.  Two UN staff were injured on October 6th in an explosion outside of Marka, while a clan elder who worked closely with IMC was killed on October 7th in Belet Weyne.

To get a sense of what this insecurity means for Somalis themselves, read the excellent article With Spotlight on Pirates, Somalis on Land Waste Away in the Shadows from Friday's New York Times.

In related news, 820 Burundian soldiers arrived in Mogadishu over the weekend to reinforce the peacekeepers already there under the mandate of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).  Somali insurgents wasted no time attacking the new arrivals, injuring two of the Burundian soldiers hours after they arrived. (Overall, 10 AMISOM peacekeepers have been killed since 2007.)

There are now 3,020 AU troops in Somalia (all from Burundi and Uganda), guarding key sites in the city and (theoretically) supporting the Somali Transitional Federal Government.

Finally, heavy rains in the lower Shabelle region left thousands of IDPs without shelter last week.  According to a regional medical officer: "The heavy rains, with wind, have combined with lack of shelter and lack of adequate food to have a negative impact on their health.  We need to get them some form of shelter urgently before it is too late.  The more they remain in the open the more likely [it is] that many will die."

For a map of rain-affected areas, see here.

Image: Distribution of aid supplies in Somalia - Photo from Germany Foreign Office

Michael Bear
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