Somali Clerics Urge Cease-Fire to Help Civilians Hit by Drought

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Somali Clerics Urge Cease-Fire to Help Civilians Hit by Drought

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A group of Somali clerics called for a cease-fire between government forces and Islamist militants to help civilians affected by drought, as the main rebel group in the drought-stricken country said attacks should be increased. A six-month halt to hostilities is needed to allow for aid to be distributed in the Horn of Africa country, Sheikh Bashiir Ahmed Salad, head of Hay’adda Culumada Soomaaliyeed, an umbrella body of mullahs, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday from Mogadishu, the capital. “I also call on al-Shabaab to allow the aid agencies to give aid to vulnerable civilians,” Salad said. Somalia’s Western-backed government has been battling insurgents, including the al-Shabaab militia that has pledged loyalty to al-Qaeda, since 2007. The country hasn’t had a functioning central administration since the ouster of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Two million people in Somalia have been affected by drought following the failure of the October to December rains in most parts of Somalia, the United Nations’ humanitarian agency said in a statement on Jan. 7. Water supplies have decreased, cereal prices have climbed and livestock deaths are being reported, said Mark Bowden, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia. “A further deterioration in the humanitarian situation is expected in the coming months,” Bowden said in the statement. Some of Somalia’s farmers have travelled to Mogadishu to seek assistance. ‘Severe Drought’ “I came to Mogadishu after I was unable to help my animals,” said Ahmed Qabow Isse, a nomadic goat herder who left the central Middle Shabelle region last month in search of assistance. “I have lost more than 300 goats over the past few months from thirst and hunger. There is a severe drought in the region,” he said in an interview on Jan. 8. Workers providing humanitarian relief in Somalia are regularly hindered by armed groups, while eight aid agencies are banned from the southern and central regions, the UN said in December. Domestic organizations in partnership with the UN have taken over the delivery of services in the affected areas, it said. Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansor, a leader of al-Shabaab, yesterday called on his forces to step up attacks against government forces and African Union peacekeepers in the country. “I call on all mujahedeen, wherever they are, to redouble their attacks in order to shorten the continuing battle,” Mansor said in a statement broadcast on Radio Furqan, a Mogadishu-based broadcaster. “You should persist until you have eradicated all the mercenary troops.” Most of southern and central Somalia has been seized by the insurgents, while the government, led by President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, controls only parts of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab’s governor in Mogadishu said yesterday wealthy individuals in the country should provide assistance to vulnerable citizens. “Those of you who have wealth and money should assist their brothers and sisters immediately,” Sheikh Ali Mohamed Hussein told reporters yesterday in the city.