Thursday, September 08, 2011
JOINT SECURITY COMMITTEE
Somalia is at the epicentre of a drought in the Horn of Africa region which is affecting over 13 million people.
The government blames the famine on the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels, who seek to impose a strict version of sharia law on the nation and are bent on striking the region's main economies.
At a regional conference in neighbouring Kenya, Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said the militants had systematically looted grain stores, extorted food and taxes from farmers and prevented starving people from reaching help.
"As a region, we cannot afford the luxury of allowing al Qaeda an opportunity to establish a firm presence in the Horn," Ali told the conference.
"We should consider establishing a joint security committee, within the auspices of the (regional) Intergovernmental Authority on Development (bloc)."
While a small harvest is expected in January, following rains in October, the situation is unlikely to improve signicantly until the main harvest of 2012 in August.
Aid agencies say they are only able to get food aid to 1 million of those in need because the al Qaeda-affiliated rebel group, al Shabaab, which controls much of the south, will not allow food shipments in.
Instead, agencies are using food and cash vouchers which hungry families can exchange for commodities in local markets.
Famine exists where at least 20 per cent of households cannot access enough food, over 30 per cent are acutely malnourished and two people per 10,000 die every day, according to the U.N.