UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The deaths of two United Nations aid workers in Somalia prompted the international body to consider suspending food deliveries in the country, officials say.
Gunmen shot and killed two U.N. workers earlier this month, causing the U.N.'s World Food Program to briefly consider pulling out of the lawless East African nation, CNN reported Saturday.
But, WFP officials said in a statement, "such a step would hurt the very people we seek to help, especially women and children suffering the most from this merciless conflict." WFP spokesman Ramiro Lopes da Silva said the agency will instead proceed with plans to deliver enough food to feed 2.5 million people in the next two months.
In the statement, Lopes da Silva warned there was still great concern for the safety of U.N. workers, saying, "We want community leaders to step forward and offer us clear assurances that WFP workers will be able to carry out their humanitarian work in safety," CNN reported.
Recent droughts and high food and fuel prices have worsened the humanitarian situation in Somalia, which has no effective central government, U.N. officials say.
