Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
Former UN Spokesperson Salim Lone: International Community Turning Blind Eye to Worsening Somalia Crisis
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The UN estimates 100,000 people have left Mogadishu in the last two weeks to escape fighting between U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops and Somali fighters. Former UN spokesperson and journalist Salim Lone says the international community is ignoring a major humanitarian crisis for which it bears considerable responsibility. [includes rush transcript]
While the situation in Pakistan is front-page news in the US and across the world, the media has focused little attention on a much more dire humanitarian crisis. In Somalia, at least 80 people have died in the capital of Mogadishu in heavy fighting between U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops and Somali fighters. Most of the dead are believed to be civilians. Ethiopian tanks and artillery battered parts of Mogadishu after an Ethiopian soldier was dragged through the streets. Residents of Mogadishu accused Ethiopian troops of attacking civilians.
The UN estimates 100,000 people have left Mogadishu in the last two weeks to escape the fighting. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said 1.5 million Somalis are now in need of humanitarian assistance. Human Rights Watch says the failure of the international community to end the violence in Somalia reflects a contempt for the value of African life. Meanwhile, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Eric Larouche issued a grave warning about the humanitarian situation.
- UN Humanitarian Coordinator Eric Larouche.
The US-backed Somali government has also launched an attack on the media. On Monday, authorities closed Shabelle Radio and briefly detained two of its senior staff. On Tuesday, heavily armed troops raided Radio Banadir. Eight local reporters have been killed in the line of duty in Somalia this year.
Salim Lone is a columnist for the Daily Nation in Kenya and a former spokesperson for the UN mission in Iraq.
