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	MSF, UN deplore murder of aid workers in Somalia by Reuters, World Food Programme   January 13, 2012   Red Cross food aid suspended in hostile Horn of Africa.   The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday it had suspended food distribution to 1.1 million people in central and southern Somalia after Al Shabaab militants blocked deliveries in parts of the famine-hit country.   The independent humanitarian agency, one of few providing aid supplies there despite huge logistical and security constraints, said local authorities had blocked deliveries since mid-December in the Middle Shabelle and Galgadud regions.   "The suspension will continue until we receive assurances from the authorities controlling those areas that distributions can take place unimpeded and reach all those in need, as previously agreed," Patrick Vial, head of the ICRC delegation for Somalia, said in a statement.   The ICRC said it was in talks with Al Shabaab, an Islamist rebel group linked to Al Qaeda, at solving the problem as soon as possible.   The suspension also affects its distribution of seeds and fertilisers to farmers, which is part of the emergency operation in place since last October to combat the effects of severe drought and war.   "We are in touch with local representatives of Al Shabaab where the events have occurred - 140 trucks have been blocked since mid-December," ICRC spokeswoman Marie-Servane Desjonqueres said.   Reports indicated last month that Al Shabaab had blocked two ICRC convoys carrying emergency food aid for drought victims.   The rebels, who are hostile to Western intervention in the lawless Horn of Africa country, outlawed 16 relief agencies including the UN''s World Food Program (WFP) in November. Somalia is the ICRC''s second largest humanitarian program after Afghanistan.   30 Dec, 2011   MSF faces dilemma over Somali operation.(Reuters)   Medecins Sans Fontieres is withdrawing non-Somali staff from a hospital in Mogadishu where two of its staff were shot dead but the aid group hopes to maintain its operation in Somalia despite the danger, an official said on Friday.   Meinie Nicolai, president of MSF"s Belgian branch which runs the hospital in the Somali capital, said Thursday"s attack did not appear to be politically driven.   "For us to leave Somalia would be a last option," Nicolai told Reuters. "It is not a political action as far as we can read it today," she added. "It"s not against the organisation."   The hospital is the largest of MSF"s 13 projects in Somalia.   A Somali gunman, shot dead two international staffers there - an Indonesian doctor and a Belgian emergency coordinator.   Somalia descended into chaos in 1991 after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted and has not had a functional central government since.   Last week, a gunman killed three Somali aid workers, including two with the U.N. World Food Programme, in the central town of Matabaan.   "For us it"s a big dilemma," Nicolai said. "We know Somalia is one of the most dangerous places to work, but the needs of the Somalis are so high. If you asked us where MSF should remain working, I would say Afghanistan and Somalia."   The paediatric hospital has 130 beds and has treated some 15,000 severely malnourished children so far, said Nicolai, adding that it gets about 100 new cases of cholera each week.   More than 100 Somali staff at the hospital will continue to run it, Nicolai said.   23 December 2011   The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has condemned the killing today of two staff members and a colleague with a partner organization in Somalia, an act of violence the agency says illustrates the risks that relief workers face in one of the world’s most dangerous places.   Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also strongly condemned the killing and urged authorities in Somalia to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers, in a statement issued by his spokesperson.   Mr. Ban extended his sympathy and condolences to the families and friends of the three humanitarian workers and their colleagues, saying he expected those responsible for the murder to be swiftly brought to justice.   WFP condemns the killing of people who devote their lives to helping others and extends its deepest condolences to the families of the victims.   The attack took place in Mataban town in Somalia’s central Hiran region, where the two WFP employees – Muhyedin Yarrow and Mohamed Salad – as well as Abdulahi Ali of the non-governmental organization (NGO) known as Doyale were on a mission to monitor food aid distribution.   The gunman who shot the three aid workers reportedly gave himself up after committing the crime and was taken into custody by local authorities. WFP operations are temporarily suspended in Mataban while the incident is being investigated.   “WFP condemns the killing of people who devote their lives to helping others and extends its deepest condolences to the families of the victims,” the agency said in a statement.   Mr. Yarrow, 54, had worked with WFP for 13 years, during which he served in the Somali towns of Baidoa, Wajid and Galkayo. Mr. Salad, 28, joined WFP’s relief operation in Galkayo two years ago.   WFP is providing food to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and malnourished children in Hiran, which was badly affected by this year’s drought-induced food shortages, but was not officially declared to be in a state of famine, as were some other parts of Somalia. Visit the related web page
	UNESCO calls on Russian authorities to probe killing of Dagestani journalist by Irina Bokova UNESCO Director-General   20 December 2011   Two United Nations agencies today called on Russian authorities to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the recent murder of journalist Khadzhimurad Kamalov in Dagestan and to bring the perpetrators to justice.   Mr. Kamalov, the founder and editor of the independent weekly newspaper Chernovik, was shot dead on 15 December as he was leaving his office. He was also the executive director of the Svoboda Slova (freedom of expression) organization.   His killing is the latest in a series of attacks against journalists, human rights defenders and lawyers in Russia, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).   Mr. Kamalov had reported extensively on alleged abuses by the police and other human rights violations in Dagestan, OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva.Mr. Kamalov had reported extensively on alleged abuses by the police and other human rights violations in Dagestan.   “His murder sends a chilling message to journalists seeking to cover such issues,” he added.   Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), condemned the killing and urged the authorities to ensure that those responsible are brought to trial.   “Fear must not be allowed to muzzle media professionals, deny reporters the basic human right of freedom of expression and bar citizens from accessing information,” she stated in a news release.   Mr. Kamalov is reportedly the fourth journalist killed in Russia this year, according to sources quoted by the International Press Institute. Below is a link to a expert presentation by Tanya Lokshina, Russia Researcher for Human Rights Watch before the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Visit the related web page
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