The United Nations halted food distribution in the Somali capital of Mogadishu yesterday after armed forces detained the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) in the war-ravaged city.

Witnesses said that about 60 armed men had stormed the UN compound in the south of the city and marched Idris Osman away at gunpoint. “Mr Osman is being held near the presidential palace. WFP has not received any explanation for this action, which violates international law,” it said.

The incident comes amid growing tension between the Rome-based UN agency and the country’s transitional federal Government over concerns that aid is being denied to its opponents.

In a statement the WFP said that it was suspending food distribution to 75,000 people in the city.

“In the light of Mr Osman’s detention, and in view of WFP’s duty to safeguard its staff, WFP is forced immediately to suspend these distributions and the loading of WFP food from our warehouses in the Somali capital,” it said.

The raid follows some of the heaviest fighting in weeks. Overnight, at least eight civilians and one policeman died as Islamic insurgents fought police officers in Mogadishu. The violence marks a miserable return to business as usual for the city’s embattled population after six months of relative peace last year.

A coalition of Islamic Courts took control of Mogadishu before spreading its influence across much of southern and central Somalia.

They brought security to communities riven by 15 years of clan fighting but their brand of Sharia raised concern among Western Governments and neighbouring countries that Somalia could become a haven for Islamic terrorists.

The Courts’ reign ended when Ethiopia launched an air and ground assault in December. Since then Mogadishu has disintegrated into anarchy as insurgents and warlords resumed their battle for control of the city.

African Union and government soldiers have struggled to assert any authority. In all, about 400,000 people have fled Mogadishu for the relative safety of aid camps. But international aid agencies delivering food, medicine or building materials are viewed with suspicion by Government officials.

In August Mohamed Dheere, the warlord turned Mayor of Mogadishu, said that the humanitarian organisations were fuelling the insurgency by feeding terrorists in the camps. Last month he cut off water supplies to several of the sprawling tent cities.

Aid workers and diplomats suggested that he was the most likely figure behind yesterday’s move and accused him of trying to cut off food supplies to opponents.

“It seems that things have been building up to this for a while,” said an aid worker, speaking on condition of anonymity. “At the start of the week the WFP began using mosques to distribute food and protect their staff but that could be interpreted as a way of giving food to the Islamists.”

The interim Government promised to clear obstacles to distributing aid back in April after the UN’s humanitarian chief complained of delays.

Since then another rainy season has failed and the country now faces its worst harvest in 13 years. But getting aid into Somalia remains a precarious business. Ships are routinely hijacked, borders are sealed and aid workers must run the gauntlet of checkpoints controlled by warlords. Government soldiers have repeatedly stolen food from people at distribution sites.

Feeding the world

87.8m Number of people in 78 countries who received food aid from the World Food Programme during 2006

67% of those were children

4m The amount of food in tonnes distributed by WFP

$2.9bn (£1.45 billion) annual expenditure

10,587 employees

92% of those serve in the field

20% of activities last year were in Sudan

Source: World Food Programme

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