20100821
africanews

Al- Shabab, an Islamist group fighting against the transitional federal government of Somalia, burnt food aid in Mogadishu, over allegation that the foodstuffs had expiry date. The insurgent fighters raided a number of markets in the city and seized more than 500 bags of maize and wheat which they had attributed to the WFP then set fire to them.

The armed militia vowed to track down and continue their operations on the “expiry food” in the markets and if found they would do the same in the eye of public, local media added.

WFP, the United Nations frontline agency in the fight against global hunger, is one of the various international aid groups finding harder situation to operate in Somalia, a nearly two decade civil war torn country in the horn of Africa.

Al-Shabab, a group with a strong version of Sharia (Islamic law) and said to have links with Al Qaeda, over the years; has been accusing the international aid organizations of being secret agent to their “enemy”.

The history of tense relations between the members of Al-shabab and humanitarian aid groups may worsen the plight of internally displaced refugees fleeing from the ongoing clashes, in parts of southern and central Somalia, between government troops and the fighters loyal to the Islamist groups.