Saturday, November 25, 2006
Xinhua
The United Nations on Friday expressed concerns over a looming humanitarian crisis in Somalia but noted that rival groups have expressed willingness to work together to assist flood victims.
Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Eric Laroche said the ongoing political differences between the transitional government and the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) which now controls much of the Horn of African nation was hampering relief efforts for up to one million people who need humanitarian assistance.
"There is a huge crisis which has been complicated by political and fighting in Somalia. This is complicating relief efforts to people that need assistance," Laroche told a media briefing in Nairobi.
The humanitarian chief said a "corridor of peace" was needed to ensure relief supplies reach between 350,000-400,000 people who have fled their homes to escape the worst flooding in a decade.
He said authorities from the UN-backed government and Islamic Courts have created emergency committees to coordinate assistance for the flood victims.
Laroche noted that he received assurances from Somali Premier Ali Mohammed Gedi who promised to send a government flood committee to meet with the powerful Islamists.
"Somalis are saying they are willing to put politics aside. All the parties are ready to work as Somalis to alleviate the suffering of their peers," he said.
The UN humanitarian chief said there were also food shortages as many families along the Juba and Shabelle river valleys in southern Somalia had lost food stocks due to the floods.
Aid organizations estimate that about 90 people have been killed in southern Somalia by severe flooding this month.
"The task ahead is huge. Its very difficult to estimate the number of the people who have been killed or affected by the floods," Laroche said.
He added that the Islamics, which controls southern and central of Somalia have been cooperating with aid agencies including UN to help the flood victims.
Laroche also urged neighboring Ethiopia, which has threatened to invade the lawless nation to fight Islamists, to exercise restraint to ensure unfettered flow of relief work.
"I think it is not the right time to be putting oil on the fire. The parties need to be able to have a corridor of peace that allows us for a time to transport goods and reach communities affected by the floods," Laroche told journalists.
On Thursday, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the SCIC had declared holy war on his country. Zenawi, who has denied allegations by the Islamists that Addis Ababa troops are backing Somalia's weak government, admits to having hundreds of military trainers in Somalia.
But Laroche said the world body would hire four helicopters to help relief efforts in the region, amid fears they could be shot down in the lawless nation due to heightened tensions.
Chris Print, a water expert with UN children's fund (UNICEF) said Somalia's two main rivers of the Shebelle and the Juba, burst their banks in recent weeks and both are now around 5 kilometers wide.
"More flooding is expected in the coming weeks. The situation in Lower Juba is the most complicated because the communities living there are integrated," Print said.
Nearly one million Somalis are estimated to be affected by the flooding, of which at least 350,000 have been forced from their homes.
Health officials have also sounded the alarm for outbreaks of waterborne disease, particularly cholera, which has already been confirmed in two areas.
"We were looking at an extreme crisis already and now this severe flooding is a double shock for the community," said Cindy Holleman, a UN food security coordinator.
The rains have destroyed farmlands, disrupted food supplies, cut off village and washed away roads, complicating the delivery of aid to the most vulnerable and impoverished in remote areas.
Source: Xinhua, Nov 25, 2006