SOMALIA: Concern over escalating violence in Gedo

NAIROBI, 18 April 2002 (IRIN) - A group of NGOs, UN agencies and donor governments has expressed concern over what it describes as the deteriorating situation in Somalia's Northern Gedo region. In a press release on Thursday, the Somalia Aid Coordination Body (SACB), said there had been an upsurge in violent fighting of late, which had caused death, injury and displacement to many Somalis. Furthermore, the insecurity was seriously impairing the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to thousands of people "in increasingly desperate need". "The SACB strongly condemns the assassination of Nur Muhammad Yusuf, a senior local staff member of an international NGO who was killed on 11 April as a result of the current fighting, and the deaths of other innocent civilians caught in crossfire," the statement said. It added that reports of increasing weapons movements in the Gedo Region was causing particular concern as this indicated that preparations for further fighting were "ongoing". "The SACB calls upon the warring parties in Gedo to desist from the fighting, so that humanitarian access to the area, presently lost, is regained. Without the re-establishment of this humanitarian access many more people could die," it warned. The Gedo Region has been acutely affected by three consecutive years of crop failure, compounded by continued insecurity, the statement noted. It said the population was extremely vulnerable and relied heavily on food aid for survival. "The current violence has caused thousands of people to flee their homes, exacerbating an already difficult situation," it said. It called on the Gedo authorities to look after the welfare of people in their region, noting their obligations under international humanitarian law. "The SACB expects that local authorities, businesses and others who play an active role in the affairs of Somalia’s southern regions will recognise their moral and legal responsibilities to those whose lives depend so desperately upon timely and appropriate humanitarian assistance," the statement added. In February, IRIN received reports of fighting around the town of Bardhere, in southern Gedo, between troops of the Juba Valley Alliance - which supports the Transitional National Government - and those of the opposition Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council. Hundreds of families reportedly fled their homes, and at least 50 people were killed.