U.S. to ease anti-terrorism rules to help Somali famine victims
The Obama administration is moving toward easing anti-terrorism restrictions in Somalia that have hampered delivery of urgently needed aid to famine-stricken parts of the country, officials said Monday.
The shift reflects the administration's alarm about the drought in E ast Africa, the region's worst in two decades. About 2.2 million of the 3.7 million people affected by famine live in parts of southern Somalia ruled by al-Shabab, an Islamist extremist group linked to al-Qaeda.
Under current restrictions, U.S.-funded groups could face prosecution if they pay "taxes" or tolls demanded by al-Shabab on food shipments. Humanitarian groups say that has only added to the severe difficulties of working in southern Somalia, where al-Shabab has killed and threatened Western aid workers.
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Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=d3c6e5e4265e69c57e1f207f01ffe85c
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