Somali refugees brave fighting in Mogadishu in hope of UN food aid

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

Hit by the worst drought in 60 years, tens of thousands of people are leaving the rural areas of central and southern Somalia for the war-ravaged capital, Mogadishu, where last week the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) started an airlift operation to deliver to 20 feeding centres.

Despite continuing fighting, with troops of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and African Union-led forces battling the Islamic militants of al-Shabaab, more and more people are coming into the city, hoping to find relief from a drought that is affecting 11 million in Somalia alone.

The WFP said it has been able to provide 85,000 meals a day in Mogadishu but with mortar shells frequently hitting civilian areas the TFG military offensive that started last week is likely to hamper the delivery of food.

(...)

Barack Obama has said the emergency in east Africa has not had the attention it deserved in the US. Speaking during a meeting with the presidents of Benin, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Niger on Friday, Obama asked Africa to play a bigger role in assisting the people affected by the drought.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/30/somalia-refugees-mogadishu-food-aid

[sabrina 1]

1. The Ivory Coast is having its own problems trying to recover

from the violence there. Maybe if we weren't killing people in other parts of the world, we could do more to help.

[cpwm17]

3. Unfortunately we are killing people in Somalia also

Somalia is one of the six countries that President Obama has attacked. Somalia has received Obama's drone treatment.

The US (President Bush) started Somalia's current war cycle, causing great devastation to Somalia.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20100901gd.html

[sabrina 1]

4. Thank you for the link. I was aware that we were there, not

to feed the starving people. Shame on this country and then we wonder why 'they hate us'.

[War Horse]

2. K&R

Thanks for posting this. The world has a short attention span...