Somalia: WFP welcomes Canada naval escort in Somalia

Thu. August 07, 2008 09:27 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. - (SomaliNet) The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed Canada's decision to send a frigate to Somalia to protect ships carrying food aid from pirate attacks. As the Canadian protection is only until September, a WFP spokesman also called for more naval support. A vessel will be diverted from a NATO mission in the Mediterranean to escort WFP ships travelling into Somalian ports, Canada's defence minister said. About 2.5m Somalis rely on food aid, most of which is transported by sea. The seas off Somalia have some of the highest rates of piracy in the world. Peter Smerdon, the WFP spokesman in East Africa, told the BBC that the Canadian warship should arrive in the next 10 days. He said that plans are now being made to ship grain from South Africa to Somalia. In June, the... [read full story]