A hulking UN-chartered cargo ship, docked at a port in Somalia this week, was halfway finished unloading its 850 tons of corn and rice when a band of gun-toting bandits stormed aboard and forced the crew to take the ship to sea.
It was the second hijacking of a UN food-aid ship in four months in Somalia. Some 78,000 people may go hungry if the situation isn’t resolved soon. But more than that, it’s an example of how difficult it is becoming to get food to Africa’s hungry masses in ways that are safe, efficient, and effective. And it’s one more reason why there’s growing pressure for major changes to the massive global food-aid system, which is funded by US and other wealthy-nation taxpayers. Full Story