From: barnhart@netcom.com (Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:SOMALIA: MORE DONOR CONCERN NEEDED
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 92 02:13:01 GMT
Organization: Netcom
Reply-To: barnhart@netcom.com

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Area: Latin America
Reference: Agriculture
Title: SOMALIA: MORE DONOR CONCERN NEEDED IN THE HORN


an inter press service feature

by horace awori

nairobi, aug 10 (ips) -- with the u.n. appeal for 1.2 billion
dollars in aid to the horn of africa still to be realised, about
4.5 of somalia's 7 million people are threatened with famine.

so far, only two thirds of the 2.2 million tonnes of relief
food required to avert the catastrophe have been pledged.

according to paul mitchell of the world food programme in
rome, although the needs of the horn of africa are far greater
than those of europe, the horn is getting very little concern.

but a western diplomat here, who declined to be named,
refutes the widespread theory that since the demise of the
communist regimes of eastern europe, africa's relief and
aid needs have been ignored in favour of eastern europe.

''africa has always been marginalised, so to talk of eastern
europe causing the marginalisation of the continent is not very
true'', he says.

according to the french health and humanitarian affairs
minister who arrived in the kenyan capital after a two-day
relief mission to somalia, ''it is shocking that the rest of the
world is so apathetic to the situation in somalia.''

''i have never seen such a spectacle. it was impossible to
believe. it was really hell on earth'' says bernard kouchner who
had witnessed scenes of children dying from hunger in their
mothers arms.

kouchner says the priority at the moment was to increase food
and medical supplies and to increase support for the ngos and
the un.

''we must establish a normal network of medical supplies to
avert a catastrophe'' says kouchner adding that he hoped  his
mission to somalia would be part of a french air bridge to
supply the interior.

relief workers here told ips that the food going to the
capital mogadishu is not filtering through to the countryside.

a team of the french medicines sans frontiers (doctors
without frontiers) has surveyed the area as far as 200 km south
of mogadishu and say they saw villages destroyed and deserted.
the few survivors, mostly old men, women and children were in
rags while the roadsides were littered with corpses. (more/ips)


somalia: more (2)

the u.n high commission for refugees (unhcr) which is already
catering for 350,000 somali refugees here fears the worst and
has set up an emergency unit in kenya to train 100 people in
emergency life saving operations says panos moumtzis of the
unhcr.

the kenya government has also opened the border with somalia
to u.n. staff, in case it is becomes possible to send in relief
by road.

abdi mahmud osman, chair of the somali peace and resettlement
organisation, told ips that problems of relief distribution in
somalia was also compounded by local inter-clan fighting over
access to the aid.

osman says more than 700,000 somali minorities are being
discriminated against in the distribution of relief food because
''they are not related to the major clans.''

according to osman he would like to see u.n. assistance
in calling a meeting of all clan elders to discuss the end of
the fighting and the disarming of all combatants with a view
to putting an end to the internecine violence.

but according to ibrahim abdi of the supreme council of the
muslims of kenya ''the somalis cannot expect the outside world
to impose peace, the world will forget their suffering if they
are so bent on making their situation worse with senseless
banditry and killings''.

kouchner also critisised the somali warlords and their
followers : ''they kept telling me that they need food not
peacekeepers but they cannot say yes to help and no to the
necessary security to distribute the food''.

''they need doctors, nurses and medicines but they cannot
have these while they continue shooting each other day and
night,'' he said.

meanwhile a u.n. technical team is in somalia to assess the
huge relief operation needed to stop the daily death toll of
200.

the team is in mogadishu for talks with the two warlords,
gen. mohamed farah aideed and the interim president, ali mahdi,
who have been battling over a divided mogadishu since last
november, unleashing a reign of terror and chaos.

according to the u.n. special envoy to somalia, mohamed
sahnoun, the u.n. is moving to a stage where guards may have to
be sent in whether the warlords like it or not.

however analysts here say even if the un decides on this
move, it would take about nine months to put in place and by
then, many hundreds of thousands will have died.
(end/ips/ha/tvh/oa/92)


-- 
Aaron (Barnhart@netcom.com) -- posting from Evanston, Illinois