NAIROBI, 8 August 2008 (IRIN) - An aid worker in Mogadishu has
received death threats a day after the head of an orphanage was killed
by unidentified gunmen. At the same time, the UN expressed concern
over continuing attacks on humanitarian workers in the war-torn
country.
"I received a telephone call last night [Thursday] telling me I was
the next to die," the aid worker, who declined to be named for
security reasons, told IRIN on 8 August.
Despite the threat, the aid worker vowed to continue with a weeklong
protest organised by civil society members and internally displaced
people (IDPs) against increasing attacks on humanitarian workers.
"We will not give up, we will not let the insecurity prevent us from
helping Somali people who are in urgent need of aid," the aid worker
said.
The head and founder of the orphanage, Abdikadir Yusuf Kariye, was
shot dead on 6 August at the centre, which is home to hundreds of IDPs
besides 370 orphans.
A Mogadishu journalist, who requested anonymity, said Kariye's murder
could have been linked to his involvement in the protests.
"Perhaps the killers wanted the protests to end," the journalist said.
"It seems there is an anti-aid worker campaign going on in the Afgoye
area; it looks like the attackers want the aid workers expelled from
the region for insecurity to reign."
The journalist added that the area in which Kariye was killed was
dominated by Islamists, making it difficult for government officials
to access the area to conduct an investigation.
"Kariye was one of those who organised the protests over the increase
in attacks on aid workers; he may have become a target as a result,"
the journalist said.
Civilian death toll
On 7 August, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, said he was alarmed by
the continuing abuses and civilian casualties resulting from the
conflict in Somalia, and the challenges faced by humanitarian workers
in addressing the rapidly growing needs of millions of vulnerable
people.
"All parties to this conflict have an obligation under international
law to protect civilians and to refrain from indiscriminate attacks,"
he said in a statement. "Yet it seems at every turn, the death toll of
ordinary Somalis is growing. Far too many of them are women, children
or aid workers who have no part in this conflict."
On 2 August, at least 20 people died and dozens more were injured in a
roadside explosion in Mogadishu. Most of the dead were women taking
part in a food-for-work programme.
Holmes said: "The death of tens of civilians in bomb and mortar
attacks in Mogadishu in the past week, the current massive
displacement of civilians due to fighting in Beletweyne and the latest
killing of an aid worker underline the toll conflict is taking on
civilian populations and the relief operation."
In Beletweyne, 300km north of the capital, in the central Hiiraan
region, fighting between Ethiopian-backed government forces and
insurgents has displaced at least 70,000 civilians, Holmes added.
"All this is occurring in the context of a severely deteriorating
humanitarian situation in which aid workers, themselves subject to
attacks in increasing numbers, are more and more challenged to reach
people with the assistance they require," Holmes said.
According to UN estimates, 21 aid-related workers have been killed in
Somalia since the beginning of 2008.
"The humanitarian situation has deteriorated steadily in the 18 months
that I have been Emergency Relief Coordinator," Holmes said, "and has
now reached unprecedented desperate levels, even in the context of
Somalia over the last 18 years."
He urged all parties to the conflict to allow unhindered humanitarian
access wherever assistance was required and to respect the neutrality
and safety of humanitarian workers.
The UN estimates that 2.6 million people in Somalia need aid, a 40
percent increase in the number of vulnerable people since January.
Some 3.5 million Somalis, or half the total population, could require
assistance by the end of the year, according to the UN.
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