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Somalia: Food prices protest continues in Somali capital
Wed. May 07, 2008 02:17 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. -
(SomaliNet) A day after gunshots from the security forces killed five in similar protests, police opened fire in Mogadishu on Tuesday to disperse thousands rallying against soaring inflation and food prices, witnesses said.
According to reports, more than 10 000 people gathered in the southern neighbourhood of Madina and marched towards the main Bakara trading district as the value of the local currency plummeted once again.
Rally leaders vented anger at printers of fake money and traders whose refusal to accept the local currency is blamed for helping to push inflation to record levels.
Police fired in the air to disperse some violent protesters, injuring at least five people in southern Mogadishu and the nearby Lafole district where demonstrators smashed at least 10 cars, witnesses said.
"Security forces opened fire at demonstrators smashing cars, injuring three of them," said Abdukadir Mohamed, a resident of Lafole, a district south of the capital. Police in Madina wounded two protesters who stoned a security patrol.
An important local cleric added his voice to the clamour over the worsening food crisis in the war-torn and impoverished nation.
"This is the worst problem facing the planet. Nobody cares about civilians and traders are harming us even more than Somalia's armed enemies now," Sheikh Mohamoud Abdulle told the crowd in Bakara.
"We can no longer ignore what is happening and we must respond to the best of our ability," he said.
On Monday, rioters had set tyres on fire and smashed shop windows in the trading district, drawing a fierce response from Somali security whose shots had left five demonstrators dead, according to witnesses.
Traders, fearing for their lives, started accepting the Somali shilling again on Tuesday, but the value of the local currency continued to plummet, dropping from 25 000 to 31 000 shillings against the dollar.
"We are now accepting the Somali shillings, but the dollar's exchange rate has shot through the sky, rising by nearly 6 000 shillings," said Hussein Moalim Ali, a forex trader in Bakara market.
Although there are no official inflation figures, UN monitors say cereal prices have increased by between 110 and 375 percent in the past year as central Somalia has endured its worst drought in recent memory.
In 1991, when the country descended into lawlessness after the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, the greenback was exchanging at an average of 4 000 shillings. Since then, it has had no central bank to regulate inflation.
A shortage of dollars has led to a bumper crop of fake 1 000-shilling notes - the only available denomination - appearing in market places and fuelling the inflation problem in the country.
"We are urging security men in the market to kill anybody bringing fake notes," said traders' spokesman Abbas Mohamed.
A vibrant market in mobile phones, weapons and basic foodstuffs had helped to keep Somalia's inflation in check over the years.
But last week, the UN warned that hyperinflation and a sharp devaluation of the Somali shilling had increased food prices, threatening the livelihood of millions of people.
The dire situation has been exacerbated by relentless conflict as well as the delayed start to the April-June rainy season.
Meanwhile, global food prices have nearly doubled in three years, according to the World Bank, sparking riots and protests in several poor countries.
The World Food Programme is seeking contributions for a $755-million emergency fund while the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation is raising $1,7-billion to provide seeds to the poor and boost output.-AFP
News Category: Somalia
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