THE CHIEF executive of Concern has criticised as “grossly irresponsible” a call by the head of Goal for UN troops to be deployed to Somalia to ensure the delivery of aid to famine-stricken areas.
Goal chief executive John O’Shea has issued several statements in recent weeks calling for military intervention as a means of addressing the crisis, and admonishing the UN for not doing so.
“The UN knows that only the deployment of a peacekeeping unit in Somalia will avert appalling loss of life – but they chose not to act,” he said.
Tom Arnold, who travelled to Somalia last week, said the proposal risked inflaming an already challenging security situation. Last week the UN-declared famine in two pockets of southern Somalia, both of which are controlled by al-Shabaab, the Islamist militias affiliated to al-Qaeda.
The group has banned several agencies, including the UN’s World Food Programme, from operating in territory under its control. Last week it accused the UN of exaggerating the crisis and appeared to renege on a recent pledge to allow humanitarian access to the worst-hit areas.
“I think [the proposal] doesn’t at all understand or take into account the complexities of politics within Somalia at the moment,” Mr Arnold told RTÉ Radio’s News at One yesterday. “It really would be inflammatory.
“I think a lot can be done to improve access to hungry people without talking about sending in external peacekeepers. I think it would be utterly counterproductive at the moment and I am extremely annoyed by it.
“I have no problem with John’s passion for feeding hungry people – of course I think we all share that – but it’s about how you go about it. I think this would not help . . . I don’t think it makes sense. If you were to bring in at this juncture external troops, I think the place would get a lot more dangerous.”
A handful of aid organisations, including Concern, Trócaire and Oxfam, work through local partners in several parts of Somalia. “If some agencies have got sufficient trust and relationships to operate there, I think it is because they take account of local political sensitivities,” Mr Arnold said.