KENYA/FILE: Somali insurgents loot U.N. compounds

Record ID: 361666

  • Title: KENYA/FILE: Somali insurgents loot U.N. compounds
  • Date: 22nd July 2009
  • Summary: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CARS AND VANS ON ROAD
  • Embargoed: 6th August 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: War / Fighting,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAC50RL8SJHH1U3CC0ABFRQIK72
  • Story Text: Gunmen from Somalia's al-Shabaab group looted two United Nations compounds, halting humanitarian activities in areas where tens of thousands of Somalis are in need of assistance said a U.N. official on Tuesday (July 21).
    The looting happened after the al Qaeda-linked militants said they would shut down three U.N. agencies operating in the Horn of Africa nation. They accused UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), UNDSS (United Nations Department of Safety and Security) and UNPOS (United Nations Political Office for Somalia) of working against Somali Muslims and the establishment of an Islamic state.
    Al-Shabaab controls much of southern Somalia and parts of the capital Mogadishu. The group is fighting government troops and African Union peacekeepers to impose its own harsh version of sharia law throughout Somalia.
    "The compounds in Wajid and Baidoa were entered by militia yesterday. in both instances items were taken, in Wajid, less so and really not in a way that really our operations have been interrupted. In Baidoa on the other hand we have lost quite a lot of equipment, a lot of equipment including vehicles and especially what is concerning us right now is the removal of our radio communication equipment because we cannot conduct any humanitarian action even life saving operations without radio communication equipment, so that is a very special concern," said Roseanne Chorlton, acting U.N. Humanitarian co-ordinator for Somalia, base in Nairobi, Kenya.
    The compounds targeted were in Baidoa, the seat of Somalia's parliament before insurgents seized the town, and the World Food Programme's (WFP) compound in Wajid in the Bakool region.
    U.N. officials said six expatriate staff in Baidoa were evacuated to neighbouring Kenya while operations in Wajid would continue as minimum security conditions had not been affected and security staff were still present.
    "We are hopeful that all groups in Somalia will accept and acknowledge the importance of humanitarian action and we will have unhindered access. We are concerned that everybody has the correct understanding of what the U.N. is doing in Somalia and that our intentions and our actions are designed to give relief and well being to the people of Somalia, we have no other agenda behind that," said Chorlton, adding that the organizations was not expecting any further "intrusions".
    Al-Shabaab said other non-governmental organisations and foreign agencies operating in Somalia should contact the administration in their area and they would be informed of the conditions and restrictions on their work.
    Although the government led by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed has voted to implement sharia law in Somalia, al-Shabaab says it does not recognise the administration that was formed under a U.N.-hosted peace process in neighbouring Djibouti this year.
    Neighbours and Western nations fear that if al-Shabaab succeeds in toppling the government, Somalia will serve as a safe haven for hardline militants to train and destabilise the region, or launch attacks in Western nations.
    A spate of kidnappings has also heightened worries about the deteriorating security situation in Somalia.
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