Somalia Islamists force Red Cross food aid suspension
Internally displaced Somali people stand in a queue waiting to be served with cooked food in Hodan district south of capital Mogadishu September 5, 2011. File photo.
Image by: FEISAL OMAR / REUTERS
Image by: FEISAL OMAR / REUTERS
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday it had suspended food distribution to 1.1 million people in central and southern Somalia after al Shabaab militants blocked deliveries in parts of the famine-hit country.
The independent humanitarian agency, one of few providing aid supplies there despite huge logistical and security constraints, said that local authorities had blocked deliveries since mid-December in the Middle Shabelle and Galgadud regions.
"The suspension will continue until we receive assurances from the authorities controlling those areas that distributions can take place unimpeded and reach all those in need, as previously agreed," Patrick Vial, head of the ICRC delegation for Somalia, said in a statement.
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