Car-jackings hamper relief work in Amran Governorate

Five young men block the road, their guns pointed at the approaching vehicle. The driver from NGO Islamic Relief (IR) slows down and stops by the makeshift checkpoint on Amran Road, which connects the Yemeni capital Sanaa with the northern province of Saada. The gunmen, aged 13-18 tell the IR staff to get out of the car. In the distance a World Food Programme (WFP) truck approaches. It, too, is stopped by the tribespeople. Both vehicles are seized but the personnel are released.



The incident, which took place on 17 April, is the most recent in a spate of car-jackings in Amran Governorate, north of Sanaa, and led UN agencies to suspend relief assistance for 10 days. Previous incidents have reportedly involved Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), Oxfam and Save the Children.



Large parts of Amran Road are desolate and aid workers often find themselves caught between tribes with grievances and demands, and government forces.



It is said to be an area where tribal law rules and the gun holds sway. Many agencies have been affected by incidents of car-jacking, stray bullets and even kidnapping, which not only makes travel dangerous, but also disrupts aid to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Amran.



“Mostly tribes do it to send a message to the government, said Ahmed al-Kohlani, a senior government official responsible for IDP camps. “And this becomes a problem for the IDPs who are directly affected.”



Kidnappings



According to Yemeni tribal traditions, kidnappings have long been a way for tribes to negotiate with the government in Sanaa. Most kidnapping cases are solved quickly and usually no one is harmed.



“We understand that the car-jackings are not aimed directly at us as relief staff, but it is a dangerous situation when guns are involved and someone can get hurt,” said Andrew Moore, country director of Save the Children. “At some stage it is likely to go wrong.”



“The security problems limit our work in terms of reaching larger numbers of people and the efficiency of the work,” said El Tayeb Musa, country director of Oxfam.



The decision to suspend relief assistance in Amran has had a direct effect on the IDPs in the governorate. “It hinders our work and access and ultimately the development of the area,” said Khalid Ahmed Almulad, IR country director. He estimated that as many as 56,000 people could have been affected by the UN’s suspension of relief.



Other incidents



Other recent incidents include a shooting which took place outside a UN office in Amran on 25 January. “One bullet hit the UN office gate and a parked WFP vehicle inside,” said Marie Marullaz, an associate external relations officer at the UN Refugee Agency. The shooting, she explained, was a result of a conflict over a water project with the local authorities, but resulted in the UN office closing down for five days.



Similarly, on 7 March a UN Children’s Fund truck transporting 245 water filters for IDPs in Khaiwan camp in Amran Governorate was hijacked and shot at by gunmen in al-Khublan village.



Armed escorts



To prevent such incidences the UN uses armed escorts when travelling. “It is part of UN security regulations that aim at ensuring the safety of its staff,” said Marullaz. “The aim of [armed escorts] is to avoid any looting and ensure that humanitarian assistance is reaching all who need it.”



However, many NGOs are not keen on armed escorts. “It is not our mandate,” said Almulad from IR. “In some cases we feel it can even endanger a situation more.”



Instead, many NGOs focus on a more holistic approach. IR is currently running a conflict transformation and peace-building project to empower, among others, the tribes with negotiation techniques. “We understand that the tribes have genuine grievances, but they need to deal with this in the proper way,” said Almulad.



Together with Save the Children, IR has set up a community-based strategy. “The approach has to be to work with the tribes,” said Moore from Save the Children. “We use the strategy of working through the tribes who then guarantee our safety.”



In return some NGOs offer the tribes assistance. “We have made a strategic choice of providing long-term assistance to the host communities in the form of health, nutrition intervention and education,” said Moore. “That way we are able to develop a bond, boost our activities and expand on them.”



Overall most NGOs and UN agencies say government is ultimately responsible for security on the ground. Referring to the incident on 17 April, senior government official al-Kohlani warned: “If it happens again the government will get involved and send soldiers and start setting up more checkpoints.”



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