Somali rebels kill local aid worker

Somali Islamist militants have killed the head of a food distribution charity in central Somalia, a pro-government militia said on Friday, the latest blow to the relief effort in the famine-hit country.      

On Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) suspended food distribution to more than 1.1 million people in southern and central Somalia after the insurgents held up convoys carrying emergency food relief.    

The ICRC said on Friday it expected explanations from local authorities linked to al Shabaab about why its food consignment for hungry Somalis has been stuck for four weeks in Jowhar near Mogadishu for quality control.    

The ICRC's food supplies, intended for 240,000 people, have been offloaded from its 140 trucks into warehouses, he added.    

Residents said al Shabaab wanted only Islamic agencies to provide aid in the areas it controls.    

Aid agencies say a devastating drought in the Horn of Africa country last year has been compounded by fighting between the al Qaeda-linked rebel group and Kenyan troops deployed alongside Somali government forces in the south of the country.         

Reuters