Friday, November 24, 2006
As the toll from nearly a month of flooding hit 89, they warned that conflict between Somalia's powerful Islamist movement and weak Ethiopian-backed government, now on the brink of war, would derail critical aid operations.
Of particular concern, they said, are airlift deliveries of badly needed supplies of food, water and shelter material, required because the waters have cut off access to many of the worst-affected areas.
Despite security assurances for such flights from the Islamists and the government officials, they said they feared even a small incident could disrupt the entire effort.
"The helicopters might be shot at by the warring sides," said Eric Laroche, head of the Kenya-based UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for Somalia.
"The worst thing about shooting at helicopters is that the whole operation would stop even if the plane is not hit," he told reporters in Nairobi. "That is a disaster that we want to avoid."
He also lamented Thursday's announcement by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi that Addis Ababa had completed preparations for war with the Islamists, whom it says threaten it and the internationally recognised government.
"In fact, that is bad timing," Laroche said, noting that Meles made his comments just as the relief effort for flood-battered Somalia was hitting full stride with the hiring of four helicopters to distribute aid.
The Islamists, who seized Mogadishu in June and now control much of southern Somalia, are girding for battle with government forces and Ethiopian troops outside the government's seat of Baidoa, fuelling fears of full-scale war.
Since October, unusually heavy seasonal rains have flooded Somalia's Shabelle and Juba rivers, killing at least 89 people, displacing at least 300 000 others and cutting a swathe of destruction along its path.
With cases of cholera confirmed, humanitarian workers and the weak transitional government have warned of a catastrophe in the affected regions where resident are clinging on trees and eating wild food if aid is delayed.
The United Nations appealed for $15-million for its Somalia operations, but warned that amount might increase in the coming days as torrential rains continue to pound Somalia.
Source: AFP, Nov 24, 2006