UN concerned about humanitarian access

Humanitarian access to vulnerable communities caught up in recent conflict is the UN's paramount concern in Somalia at present, Maxwell Gaylard, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said at a press briefing in Geneva.

"In key locations throughout Somalia, factional armed conflict is again on the rise at levels not seen in years," Gaylard was quoted as saying in a press release issued on Thursday.

Gaylard noted that a crime wave - notably kidnapping - had rendered the UN's work in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, difficult. In the past six months alone, three UN national staff had been abducted and subsequently released. Heavy fighting in the southwestern town of Baidoa between rival factions of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA), which controls the area, had forced the UN to temporarily evacuate its staff.

At the same time, in the southwestern region of Gedo, "the laying of landmines during clan fighting has hampered access to parts of the drought-stricken region".

Gaylard called for a renewal of respect for the UN flag and all that it stands for in the promotion of peace and development, "so that vital humanitarian assistance can be delivered where it is most needed".

However, Gaylard said that while accessing some regions in the country had become more difficult in recent months, "others – notably the northwest – are peaceful and enjoying that 'peace dividend' by benefiting from not just humanitarian aid, but recovery and development assistance as well".

The UN had appealed for some US $83 million in funding for 2002, but so far received just over 40 per cent. "Many urgent needs remain unmet, especially in the protection and security sector, education, economic recovery, and coordination," said the press release.