6 die in offensive to protect Somali relief effort

[July 28, 2011]  MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- African Union forces killed six people Thursday in an offensive aimed at protecting famine relief efforts from attacks by al-Qaida-linked militants in Somalia's capital, officials said.

At least 20 others were wounded during the operation, said Ali Muse, the head of the ambulance service in Mogadishu.

The al-Shabab militants already have killed men who tried to escape the famine with their families, saying it is better to starve than accept help from the West.

Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda, a spokesman for the AU peacekeeping force in Somalia, said that AU forces had conducted a "short tactical offensive operation" in Mogadishu.

"This action will further increase security ... and ensure that aid agencies can continue to operate to get vital supplies to internally displaced," Ankunda said in a statement.

"We are concerned about the extremists' reckless attacks given the humanitarian activities being carried out presently," he said.

Ankunda said al-Shabab's decision last week to rescind permission allowing aid groups to operate in the areas the militants control already has denied hundreds of thousands of Somalis access to food aid.

The devastating famine in the Horn of Africa threatens al-Shabab's hold on areas under its control, with the militants fearing that the disaster will drive away the people they tax and conscript into military service.

In the past, the militants have blocked aid workers from helping those in need in Somalia, fearing that foreign assistance would undermine their control.

A World Food Program plane with 10 tons of peanut-butter paste landed Wednesday in Mogadishu, the first of several planned airlifts in coming weeks.

That will help, but Lt. Col. Kuamurari Katwekyeire, the civil-military coordination chief for the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, said the U.N. and other aid groups need to do more.

In a statement Thursday, the WFP said that it has a funding shortfall of $252 million for the famine relief efforts in Somalia. The agency said it was encouraged by the recent response by donor countries that had pledged $250 million for the to help.

Somalia has been mired in conflict since 1991 when long time dictator Siad Barre was overthrown by warlords who then turned on each other. Islamist militants led by al-Shabab are attempting to overthrow the weak U.N.-backed government.

[Associated Press; By JASON STRAZIUSO]

Associated Press writer Abdi Guled contributed to this report from Mogadishu.

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