Militants retreat from Mogadishu little relief for famine refugees
The Al-Shabab Islamist militants fighting to topple Somalia's Western-backed government
have begun abandoning their bases in the capital Mogadishu. African peacekeepers
and Somali government forces have been steadily wresting control of the rubble-strewn
capital from the militants this year.
However the militants remain in control
of large swathes of the south preventing aid agencies from reaching tens of thousands
of famine victims in the Horn of African nation.
On Friday 7 refugees were
killed while trying to receive aid from the United Nation's World Food Programme on
the outskirts of Mogadishu.
3 other Somalis were also killed in the fire-fight
that broke out in the refuge camp when Somali troops and residents looted truckloads
of food meant for famine victims.
Stephanie Savariaud is the World Food Programme
spokesperson for the region. Speaking to Marie Duhamel from Nairobi she said About
100,000 refugees have reached the capital in the last two months and hundreds more
are streaming into the city, hoping to escape the brunt of the worst drought to hit
the Horn of Africa in decades. Listen: