Rebels Order WFP To Stop Food Imports

Islamist insurgents who control large parts of southern Somalia have told the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) to stop importing goods into the country.

The al-Shabab group issued a statement saying the WFP must start buying from Somali farmers, saying mass importing had devastated local agriculture.

In response the WFP said Somalia was not able to feed its population. Drought and war has left more than 109,000 young children dependent on the feeding centres run by the WFP.

'The WFP is working in Somalia because the country cannot currently support the food needs of its population,' Peter Smerdon, the WFP spokesman in Nairobi, told the BBC.

The UN has estimated that half of the people living in central and southern Somalia - areas largely controlled by Islamist militants - are now in need of food aid.

Al-Shabab, which the US believes has links to al-Qaeda, controls large swathes of southern Somalia. They have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, which has been unpopular with many Somalis.

Analysts said al-Shabab is hoping to boost its support in farming areas by warning the WFP. The WFP is a major player in the international response to the humanitarian emergency.

But the WFP itself has come under attack several times from insurgents - its food trucks, warehouses and ships have all been raided.

And the programme has also been forced to shut feeding centres because of a lack of funding which has been blamed on strict US sanctions.

A statement from al-Shabab said the WFP must empty all of its storage warehouses by the end of the year, and warned local businesses they must end contracts with the WFP.

'The bringing of immense quantities of free food rations, and specifically during the harvest season, has been devastating to the agriculture industry in Somalia,' the statement said.

'It has been decided that the WFP must immediately refrain from bringing food rations from outside of Somalia and rather purchase food from Somali farmers, and then that food will be distributed to the needy in Somalia.'

At a recent conference in Italy the prime minister in Somalia's weak UN-backed government, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, mentioned the need to empower the country's farmers.

He called for more funding from the UN and developed nations to buy seeds and fertiliser. Somalia has been in turmoil since 1991 when its central government collapsed.

The transitional government, helped by an African Union peacekeeping force, runs only parts of Mogadishu.