ICRC steps up Somalia aid effort

2 September 2009

Somalian refugeesThe International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has co-ordinated an aid effort that saw 75,000 displaced people in Somalia receive vital resources last week.

According to the charity, thousands of Somalians are fleeing armed conflict in the capital of Mogadishu and finding refuge with relatives or at makeshift refugee camps.

In collaboration with the Somali Red Crescent Society, the organisation has recently distributed tomato, onion and carrot seeds to some 120,000 displaced people in need of a sustainable food source.

Dr Ahmed M Hassan, the president of the Somali Red Crescent, said: "Somalia's children have never known what it is like to live in peace; armed violence has ravaged the country ever since they were born.

"Although they have adapted their short lives to the situation, they deserve all the support they can get."

The ICRC is working to provide food to thousands of children during Ramadan, as well as clothes in time for Eid Al Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month.

According to the charity, it has been operating in Somalia since 1977, focusing on providing emergency aid and restoring family links for those divided by war.