Shabab Islamists Rebels Depart Mogadishu

                                                Mother holds starving child in Mogadishu

As Somalis cheered in the streets of Mogadishu Saturday night, Islamist Shabab rebels left by the truckload, finally opening the door for aid to the famine-stricken city in a region plagued for years by lack of adequate food.  The rebel group prevented relief groups from distributing food and water to the starving population, preferring to watch them die rather than receive help from foreign nations.   More than 100,000 famine victims are waiting for help.  UN officials estimate tens of thousands have already died and almost four million people, of which half a million  are children, will die if they don't receive nourishment soon.

A starving child waits for food in a Mogadishu Camp

Al-Shabab's departure came as a surprise to the Somali government.  Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Somalia’s new, Harvard-educated prime minister, told reporters that Somalia had been waiting for this opportunity for three years.  Guardian.co.uk stated that "Somali government soldiers and African Union(AU) peacekeepers have moved tentatively to secure former rebel-held areas in Mogadishu, a day after al-Shabaab insurgents announced a retreat from the city."  They faced little resistance as they entered the city, so the government views that as an encouraging sign.  Some analysts attribute the rebels' retreat as a sign of increasing division in the ranks of the Islamist groups related to their blocking aid to their starving fellow citizens of Somali.  Whatever the reason, Ham on Wry celebrates the news.

Now, the hard work can begin in earnest in Mogadishu.  But readers must bear in mind that the rebels still occupy most of southern Somalia.  Al-Shabab rebels operate from a particularly cruel mindset and could prevent people in other regions from receiving aid.  The world is reeling from bad economic news; however, when one sees the pictures included in this blog and others from various news outlets, it puts economic woes in perspective.  Every reader with a computer can help the situation in Somalia with one click on, and even more by buying products from,  www.thehungersite.com.  Ham on Wry urges everyone who reads this blog to do so.  A small act multiplied by hundreds or thousands makes a huge difference.