Friday, May 11, 2007
In a statement issued in Nairobi, the Britain-based agency said thousands of Somalis have been caught in the grip of a chronic humanitarian crisis and appealed to the international community to press for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.
"Oxfam urges the international community to press for an immediate and lasting ceasefire," said Anne Pieter van-Dijk, Oxfam's Humanitarian Coordinator.
"Without a long-term resolution of the crisis, countless more civilians caught in the crossfire in Mogadishu could add to the ranks of the dead and displaced," she said.
"We hope that the TFG will allow a more inclusive political process at the upcoming national reconciliation conference in mid June," Pieter van-Dijk said.
"It is of the utmost importance to ensure that all key stakeholders -- including clan elders, Islamic leaders and representatives of the business community, civil society and women- - be involved in the reconciliation process. Only an inclusive process will ensure long-term stability in Somalia," she noted.
United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, estimate that some 1,300 people have died and thousands have fled since fighting escalated in March.
The UN World Food Program said this week it had carried out its first distribution of aid in Mogadishu since the flareup.
"Oxfam hopes that the political situation in Somalia will soon allow for the stabilization of the country and therefore for unhindered access of humanitarian and development agencies to all those in need," said Pieter van-Dijk.
Source: Xinhua, May 11, 2007