UN chief seeks $900m for “peril” in Somalia

The United Nations has said it requires a further $900 million (£700 million) in aid this year for the drought in Somalia.

Speaking at a UK-hosted international conference on Somalia the UN secretary general, António Guterres, said “The drought is the most pressing priority,” and the “country’s future hangs in the balance between peril and potential”.

The talks in London will discuss the potential for more aid to be sent to the country and steps to stabilising the government before the 2020 elections.

Currently, parts of Somalia are being held by al-Shabaab, the Islamist insurgency group.

Theresa May said on Thursday that the priority was to “degrade al-Shabaab by having Somali forces take over the security of the country”.

The UK Prime Minister also pledged an increase in volume and speed of UK aid and security forces. 

Somalia and the African Union (AU) have been struggling to remove al-Shabaab, but they still control large parts of the country.

There are doubts on the capacity of Somalia’s army. Kenya sent soldiers into the country in 2011. The AU has over 22,000 soldiers from Ethiopia, Burundi, Djibouti, Uganda and Kenya battling al-Shabaab.

“I want to strike a bargain whereby Somalia’s leaders carry out vital security reforms, including drawing up a clear plan for a national army, in return for more help and training from the international community. And when conditions allow, Somali troops will take over from their Amisom allies.” said foreign secretary Boris Johnson.

Critics claim that aid and intervention from western countries have failed to make positive change, but instead allows the country to disintegrate into tribal enclaves due to a lack of clear agreement exists on the dispersal of power.

In 2011, a famine in Somalia killed over 250,000 people. Over six million are currently affected by the lack of food.