Braving bandits on the front-line of Niger’s food crisis

Reuters Alert - 12/05/10

Braving bandits on the front-line of Niger’s food crisis
Thursday 13 May 2010
Aid workers in crisis-hit Niger will run the gauntlet of bandits as they deliver life-saving food aid to families.

Staff from Plan International will head into the lawless region on the Mali border under armed guard - braving robbers on camelback and Al-Qaida sympathisers.
They will transport cereal over the next week to about 3,000 severely malnourished people in northwest Tillaberi, about 100 miles from the capital Niamey.
"We’ve not had any attacks yet on our convoys but on Sunday evening armed bandits on camels attacked a convoy of traders heading for a local market, killing one trader and seriously wounding two others," says Plan’s country director in Niger, Rheal Drisdelle.
Different armed groups threaten security in the region, including the self-styled ’El Queda in the Mahgreb’. "These were responsible for the kidnapping of two UN Special Envoys last year who ended up being detained for several months," says Mr Drisdelle. "They also attacked a Nigerien military outpost in this region last February and killed 5 Nigerien soldiers."
But the area is also home to armed bandits scouring the badlands for cash-carrying traders and off-road vehicles to seize. "The bandits mainly want 4x4s and have not shown any interest in the past for food aid or the trucks we use," says Mr Drisdelle.
All aid agency and government officials have an armed military escort during any operations in the area.
Plan staff with local partners started assessing the needs of malnourished families at the weekend, with nearly 43 tonnes of cereal earmarked for distribution.
Plan has been selected by the World Food Programme to distribute over 1,000 tonnes of cereal to 73,000 people across Tillab鲩 as the crisis worsens over the next month. The region is one of the worst hit by the food crisis - caused by poor rains and affecting nearly 8 million in Niger.
Plan has launched a US$1 million appeal to help those most severely affected by the famine, with US$500,000 already pledged.
"The numbers of ’severely vulnerable’ are increasing," says Mr Drisdelle. "Children under five, pregnant women and the elderly are among specific at-risk groups."