Tracking - Gaza Blockade, Aid Worker Shot in Somalia

by Michael Bear · 2008-11-17 10:44:00 UTC
Topics:


[People in Gaza dependent on aid - Footage from Al Jazeera]

Gaza Blockade:

This morning Israel allowed thirty trucks carrying humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza.  Of these, at least eight held supplies for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

This is the first humantiarian shipment allowed through the border since November 4th.

The blockade had greatly complicated humanitarian efforts in Gaza - UN warehouses ran empty last week, causing the suspension of food distributions to 750,000 people.

According to one UN spokesman, humanitarian goods from this morning's convoy "will last a matter of days. But then what?"

Israeli officials have said that future aid shipments are contingent on Hamas ceasing its rocket and mortar attacks.  For an analysis of the Israeli and Palestinian politics behind the recent fighting, see here.

Aid Worker Shot in Somalia:

Reuters reports that "a Somali aid worker was also critically injured when gunmen shot him in the head in Merka, a port city captured by the rebels Wednesday."

So far this year, thirty three aid workers have been killed in Somalia.

Meanwhile, Somali insurgents continued to gain ground, capturing the port of Barawe over the weekend. As mentioned above, this comes days after the insurgents took Merka, one of the main ports of entry for humanitarian supplies.

As Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf warned over the weekend, the Transitional Federal Government is "on the verge of total collapse."

Michael Bear
PREVIOUS STORY:
What Jihadists Think of Aid Workers
NEXT STORY:
A letter from Bettina Siegel, "Pink Slime" petition creator

COMMENTS (0)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.