Al-Shabaab Ban Starving Somalis from Accessing Aid
Local Editor
Terrorist Shabaab group in Somalia imposed a ban on humanitarian assistance in areas they control, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to choose between death from starvation and disease or brutal punishment.
In some towns, hungry and weak people were ordered by extremist leaders to remain where they are to act as human shields against US airstrikes.
Somalia is suffering its worst drought in 40 years, with the effects of climatic catastrophe compounded by war and poor governance.
Interviews with villagers in the swaths of land controlled by al-Qaeda-affiliate al-Shabaab, in the center and south of the east African state, reveal a population on the brink of catastrophe, with children and older people already dying in significant numbers.
Al-Shabaab has told people they will be punished - possibly executed as spies - if they have any contact with humanitarian agencies.
Strict British and US counter-terrorism laws are also discouraging humanitarian organizations from delivering vital emergency assistance, aid agencies have said.
Although aid officials say a huge international effort and donations by Somalia's vast diaspora have so far averted a repeat of the 2011 famine, when 250,000 people died, conditions in much of the country have continued to deteriorate in recent months.
An additional 500,000 people now need humanitarian assistance, bringing the total to 6.7 million. Almost half of these people face starvation if they do not receive help.
One reason for the high death toll six years ago was a blockade imposed by al-Shabaab on humanitarian assistance by international and local NGOs that did not meet its strict criteria.
This time, al-Shabaab appeared initially to adopt a more moderate policy, which analysts said suggested leaders were wary of being blamed once more for failing to either provide or allow help to reach needy communities.
However, its approach appears to have hardened since late June, possibly owing to internal power struggles.
More than two million people - a fifth of the population of Somalia - live in areas controlled by al-Shabaab. The extremist group has repeatedly attacked aid workers and continues to launch daily strikes against government targets.
More than 700,000 people have already fled their homes in Somalia, 200,000 over the past two months. Almost all have left al-Shabaab-controlled territory in a desperate bid to find food or medical aid.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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