Days after the United Nations declared famine in parts of southern Somalia and vowed to provide aid to the affected areas, Islamist militants reversed their decision to lift a ban on foreign aid in regions they control. Al Shabaab originally imposed the ban in 2009 on numerous agencies, including the United Nations Development Program, World Food Program and CARE International. They lifted it earlier this month.
“The lift of ban on aid agencies doesn’t include the agencies that we banned in areas we control because those agencies don't do relief work, they are spies and work on political agendas,’” an Al-Shabaab spokesman said Thursday.
The spokesman also denied there is famine in Somalia. “It is a lie and they are politicizing the issue. We only have drought in Somalia, not famine,” he said.
The United Nations declared famine in the southern regions of Bakool and Lower Shabelle earlier this week. It is estimated 3.7 million people have been affected, making it the largest famine to hit the area in 20 years.
"If we don't act now, famine will spread to all eight regions of southern Somalia within two months, due to poor harvests and infectious disease outbreaks," Somalia humanitarian coordinator Mark Bowden said Wednesday. "Every day of delay in assistance is literally a matter of life or death for children and their families in the famine-affected areas."
"It is likely that tens of thousands will already have died, the majority of those being children," Bowden added.
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