Sunday, September 02, 2007
MOGADISHU (Xinhua) - China signed an agreement here on Friday to provide US$1.5 million in free aid to war-torn Somalia.
According to the agreement signed by Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf and Chinese Ambassador in Kenya Zhang Ming, the aid includes US$1 million for reconstruction, 0.5 million in humanitarian aid and anti-malaria drugs worth about 132,000 dollars.
He thanked the Chinese government for providing the aid.
Somalia had been largely in a state of anarchy since the outbreak of a civil war in 1991. At the end of last year, backed by troops from neighboring Ethiopia, the interim government of Yusuf defeated rebel militants and gained control of most parts of the country.
However, since the beginning of this year, a new wave of rebel attacks have plagued the capital of Magadishu, killing thousands of civilians and dislocating hundreds of thousands of others.
Source: Xinhua, Sept 02, 2007