Britain's 'shameful' failure to respond to UN calls for aid

The UK has been singled out for its "shameful" failure to send aid to the world's worst refugee crisis unfolding on the remote border between Kenya and war-torn Somalia.
A flood of refugees fleeing the relentless conflict in Somalia has crossed into the already poverty-stricken north of Kenya prompting an emergency appeal from the UN for fresh funds to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
The UK is among a handful of rich nations who have so far ignored the UN call for $92m and have failed to offer any assistance according to the respected NGO Human Rights Watch.
Three camps around the town of Dadaab are now sheltering 260,000 people, the largest concentration of refugees anywhere in the world, in appalling conditions.
Gerry Simpson, a refugee researcher with Human Rights Watch described Britain's failure to answer the appeal or contribute to the existing UN refugee agency budget for Dadaab as "shameful". "The UK has given nothing which is extremely disappointing considering its close ties to Kenya," Mr Simpson said at the launch of a new report on the refugee crisis, "From Horror to Hopelessness". "It's also questionable considering UK involvement in international policy for Somalia." Somalia was convulsed in late 2006 by a US-backed Ethiopian invasion aimed at overthrowing an emerging Islamic government since which the refugee population in Dadaab has swollen by more than 50 percent. The UK lent its support to the intervention which has been widely criticised for making a bad situation worse in the Horn of Africa. The subsequent failed occupation has seen the already ravaged country become more unstable and some 330 people are reported to be crossing into Kenya every day. ..more..http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/britains-shameful-failure-to-respond-to-un-calls-for-aid-1658053.html