"Kenya-Somalia Drought: Security Risks Overshadow Aid Delivery"

"MANDERA, Kenya/BULO HAWO, Somalia -- Mandera town, on the border between Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, is the hub for aid operations in Kenya's drought-affected Mandera district. It could have been a logistics base for sending help by road to the famine-affected areas in south-central Somalia, but the security risk is high.

About four months ago, Al-Shabab militia took over the town of Bulo Hawo on the Somali side, and continue to mount sporadic attacks in the area even though it has been retaken by the authorities.

On July 27, the group used a mobile phone to trigger an explosion in Mandera town, killing a Kenyan police officer a few hundred meters from a United Nations office."

Environment News Service had the story August 1, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"U.S. To Ease Anti-Terrorism Rules To Help Somali Famine Victims" (Washington Post)

"Is Resettlement the Best Response To Drought And Famine?" (globalpost)

"Oxfam: Horn of Africa Needs Faster Drought Aid" (Voice of America)

"Threat of Conflict Looms Amid Hunger Crisis" (Jeffrey Sachs/Business Daily)

"Uganda May Be Next To Be Hit by Severe Drought: FAO" (Daily Nation)