UN: Naval escorts are getting food aid to Somalia

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The United Nations warned Wednesday that piracy off Somalia's coast could deprive the country's poorest of much-needed food aid. The World Food Program has managed to deliver a steady flow of relief over the last 18 months, thanks largely to its use of naval escorts for supply boats approaching the Somali capital of Mogadishu, the northeast port of Berbera and Bosaso in Somalia's Puntland. But before those shipments are turned over to the UN aid agency, they are often unescorted and vulnerable to attack. The recent surge in attacks in the Indian Ocean - including two in a week on US aid ships - has raised questions about whether more escorts are needed.