Aid workers in southern Somali town moved to Kenya

Aid agencies operating in southern Somalia said on Monday they had relocated 12 expatriate aid workers following a deterioration in the security situation.

Rebel group Al Shabaab controls much of southern Somalia and parts of the capital Mogadishu. The group is fighting government troops and African Union peacekeepers to impose its own harsh version of sharia law throughout Somalia.

The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) and World Vision, two of the few international aid agencies working in southern Somalia, said their international staff had left the town of Buale for security reasons.

"Six international staff working for WFP and six staff from World Vision have been relocated for security reasons," said Peter Smerdon, WFP's regional spokesman based in Kenya.

The nature of the threat was not disclosed, but fighting between two rival insurgent groups has been spreading fast in the south of the Horn of Africa nation.

Al Shabaab seized control of the southern town of Afmadow at the weekend from rival Hizbul Islam insurgents in clashes that killed at least 12 fighters.

The aid agencies said the move would not interrupt key programmes such as the therapeutic feeding of over 250,000 children in the south Somali region of Juba.

"Our national staff will continue carrying these programmes forward as we assess the security situation in the region," said Amanda Koech, World Vision's spokeswoman for Somalia.

After a nearly three-year insurgency and a prolonged dry spell, Somalia is struggling with one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and more than a third of the population depend on food aid.

Increasing insecurity in Somalia continues to force thousands to flee their homeland into neighbouring Kenya.

Some 19,000 civilians have been killed by clashes since the start of 2007. While some residents credit the insurgents with restoring a semblance of order in some areas, al Shabaab has alienated many Somalis who are traditionally moderate Muslims. (Editing by David Clarke) ((Email: nairobi.newsroom@reuters.com.
Source: Reuters, Nov 23, 2009