Gunmen killed an agent for a WFP-contracted transport company amid growing insecurity in southern and central Somalia, the UN agency said on Tuesday.
WFP said in a statement issued in Nairobi that the Sunday's killing brings the five the number of staff members of a WFP-contracted trucking company killed in the Horn of Africa nation this year.
"We condemn these shootings, and are very concerned that growing insecurity threatens to sabotage the humanitarian response in Somalia," said WFP Country Director Peter Goossens.
He said that violence was rising when more than two million people need assistance because of drought and high food prices. A plague of kidnappings and attacks on aid workers and members of civil society has broken out in recent weeks.
The killing followed the shooting by three unidentified gunmen of a senior member of the Somali nongovernmental organization SARDO during a distribution on Friday of WFP food to thousands of displaced people in a camp close to the capital Mogadishu.
According to WFP, the NGO official was shot in the face and taken to a hospital in Mogadishu.
In Sunday's incident, militiamen opened fire in the southern town of Buale and killed the transport agent in a local dispute.
Payments are demanded by militiamen for trucks carrying humanitarian assistance to pass hundreds of checkpoints in South and Central Somalia.
Goossens said that WFP was committed to operating in Somalia, and was delivering significant amounts of food assistance despite increasing risks.
However, Goossens warned that all sides to the conflict must recognize the minimum level of security required for aid operations and that they would be responsible for people's suffering should aid deliveries become impossible.
A total of four WFP-contracted drivers have been killed in Somalia so far this year. Over the rest of the year, WFP must double the amount of food assistance being delivered to Somalia to feed an average of 2.4 million people per month.
Delivery of food aid by sea is critical, and WFP has made urgent appeals for naval escorts to protect ships loaded with WFP food from piracy.
The killing came as humanitarian agencies in Somalia are considering suspending operations after two aid workers were shot dead in less than 24 hours.
Some aid organizations are reported to be reviewing their security measures following the attacks. Violence against aid workers in Somalia has increased dramatically in recent weeks. But it is not clear exactly who is behind the attacks.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article