Somalia warned against refusal of protection from Pirates
Somalia’s constant refusal to provide naval protection against pirates has led to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) issuing a warning to the country that the world body may have to cut food aid to it. Frigates belonging to the Danish, French and the Dutch had provide protection of their deliveries during a swell in piracy for more than seven months now.
Nearly 80% of the WFP aid that arrives in Somalia is by sea. The agency said that even when most shipping companies were hesitant to sail without escorts to Somalia, the country had made no offers for the agency to take the escort duties over from the Dutch navy. Further the UN has warned that once the shipments cease, two million people could be affected. This would dramatically worsen the food crisis in Somalia leading to the rise in the number of hungry people in the country to 3.5 million in the coming months. The fear in the world community is that in such a situation, Somalia may be at the brink of a famine akin to the one it faced 15 years ago, where hundreds of thousands perished. The sad reality about Somalia is that it does not have a functioning national government since 1991. Since then, the nation has only seen civil strives.
Source: Shipping-News.net
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