NGO suspends relief work due to security concerns

International Medical Corps (IMC) has announced a temporary suspension of all its activities in and around the Somali town of El-Berde, 420km northwest of the capital Mogadishu, citing security concerns.

"All IMC staff members employed in El-Berde have been urged to relocate immediately and have been offered help in evacuating to safer areas," the medical charity stated.

IMC’s decision to suspend its programmes in El-Berde comes a week after one of its staff members and a driver were killed in the town.

Mohamed Muse Ali, 40, a doctor, and his driver, Lel Idris, were killed on 27 June when two men attacked their vehicle.

Ali was on his way home from work when armed men shot and seriously wounded him, Hassan Moalim Yusuf, the head of the Centre for Peace and Human Rights in Bakol, south-central Somalia, said at the time.

IMC president Nancy Aossey said the suspension was because of ongoing tensions and the threat of continued hostilities in the area.

"It is tragic, but we have no choice — we have to protect our staff,” Aossey said. "The fact that we are forced to leave this area because of violence at a time thousands of Somalis need us for basic health and nutritional care is a sad commentary on the failure of political will to resolve a crisis that is now well into its second decade."

The IMC operated a maternal and child health-centre and provides other basic healthcare and nutrition assistance to victims of severe flooding in El-Berde. About 20,000 Somalis, mainly women and children, were dependent on those services, according to IMC.

Aossey said IMC would resume  its humanitarian assistance  in El-Berde as soon as a secure working environment is re-established.

ah/mw