MOGADISHU, Somalia - The government on Tuesday freed a top UN food-aid official for Somalia after holding him for nearly one week in detention, granting the man bail but maintaining allegations he committed unspecified crimes, officials said.
Idris Osman, the Somali head of UN World Food Program operations in Somalia's war-battered capital, was seized Oct. 17 when dozens of armed security agents stormed a UN compound. Osman was released on bail Tuesday, but is still under investigation for unspecified crimes, said a top Somali intelligence chief, Gen. Mohamed Warsame Darwish.
The World Food Program hailed Osman's release, but gave no details.
"We welcome the release of Idris Osman, and are pleased that he will be reunited with his family," WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said in a statement.
Citing security issues after Osman's detention, the food-aid agency said it had shut down food deliveries to about 76,000 needy recipients in Mogadishu, Somalia's war-battered capital. It wasn't immediately clear if the WFP operations would be relaunched after Osman's release.
About 1.5 million Somalis need food aid and protection -- 50 percent more that at the start of the year -- due to inadequate rains, continuing internal displacement and a potential cholera epidemic, according to the United Nations.
Mogadishu has been plagued by fighting since government troops and their Ethiopian allies chased out the Council of Islamic Courts in December. Remnants of the Islamic group have vowed to fight an Iraq-style insurgency.
Somalia has not had a functioning governments since 1991, when rival warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other.
