Somali militants to block UN aid

ISLAMIST rebels in Somalia — who control the parts of the country where famine was declared this week — have said aid agencies they expelled from those areas last year cannot return, reversing a previous pledge.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants imposed a ban on food aid in 2010, which the UN and Washington say has worsened the crisis, before appearing to reverse it last week.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) was among several groups ordered out of rebel areas which are now preparing to return, describing the situation in Somalia as “extremely dire”.