It is an understatement that Somalia is a place of extreme human suffering. The average life expectancy is around 46 years for a child currently born in Somalia, there is only one doctor for every 20,000 people and only 2% of births are attended by health care professionals.
But to add to the suffering- up to a million people in southern Somalia are facing starvation as a result of the thuggish and brutal Al Shabab.
"We've postponed this decision for as long as we could, But there's a moment that comes when the risks involved are too high. Rising threats and attacks on humanitarian operations, as well as the imposition of a string of unacceptable demands, have made it virtually impossible." WFP spokesman Peter Smerdon
(photo by Mohamed Sheikh Nor/AP)
The Christian Science monitor has an article about how "The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) pulled out of southern Somalia on Tuesday, citing repeated threats and raids by commanders of Al Shabab"
Ninety-five percent of the territory where WFP operates is controlled by Al Shabab, and in November, Shabab gave us a list of 11 conditions for aid agencies to meet, including removing women from jobs in aid work," says Peter Smerdon, spokesman for WFP in Nairobi, where most of the agency’s Somali operations are coordinated. "They also made a demand for payment of $20,000 over six months for security. We can’t agree to the conditions and to that payment, so feel that it is time to pull out for the moment."
In failed states where patriarchy and reactionaries thrive suffering increases.
While WFP will continue to deliver aid in parts of Somalia that are not under the control of Al Shabab, reaching up to 1.8 million people, the pull out of food relief is almost certain to have profound effects on the Somali population.
Nearly 2.2 million Somalis receive food aid every month, and nearly 71 percent of the Somali population suffer from under-nourishment, according to UN reports.
After years of drought and war, local farmers are simply unable to meet the need without outside assistance. Fighting for control of the country has already displaced 1.55 million Somalis from their homes but within Somalia, and hunger is likely to send Somalis on the move again, perhaps joining the millions of others have been forced from their country altogether, into Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, and beyond.
Sad beyond words.
According to the article the former head of Al Shabab was sidelined after he disapproved of a terrorist attack that claimed 23 lives. The group now seems to be dominated by foreigners who have no qualms about the use of violence.
Also there was a shelling from the Al Shabab in the Somali capital, claiming at least 11 lives. From Reuters
Heavy fighting regularly rocks the port city, where the Western-backed government controls little more than the palace, the airport, sea port and a few streets in between.
Residents said Islamist rebels opened fire on the hilltop Villa Somalia palace, prompting a volley of shells in return that mostly struck the Yaqshid district of northern Mogadishu. "We have so far collected 11 dead bodies and 34 people who were injured in the shelling," Ali Muse, coordinator of the city's ambulance service, told Reuters by telephone.
Since fighting began in 2007 19,000 Somalis have been killed and over 1.5 million have been driven from their homes.
"Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight." ~Albert Schweitzer
what else is there for one to do?