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WFP seeks urgent navy escorts for Somalia food aid
The United Nations said on Friday food shipments to Somalia were grinding to a halt as few vessels were willing to hazard the country's pirate-infested waters, and it called on governments to provide naval escorts.Peter Goossens, Somalia director for the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), said the agency had received no offers of naval protection since late June, when a Dutch frigate brought a WFP vessel safely into Mogadishu. "I have 80,000 tonnes (of food) sitting in South Africa to urgently go into Somalia and so far I've only been able to find one ship of 8,000 tonnes that is willing to do this," he told a news conference. "When you speak to shipping operators or agents, the first question you get is: 'Are there escorts?'" Posted by: Fred 2008-07-19 |
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