Mogadishu - Somali insurgents said Thursday they had attacked one of the transitional government's main military camps 25 kilometres east of Baidoa, the seat of the Horn of Africa nation's parliame

Nairobi - Somali gunmen have shot and killed a truck driver for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the fourth this year, the agency said Wednesday.

Ahmed Saalim was part of a convoy of trucks carrying 602 metric tons of food from Mogadishu to Bay and Bakool regions, the WFP said.

The agency called on all parties to ensure the safe passage of humanitarian convoys amid a worsening security situation.

"WFP food is reaching many people, but our drivers are daily risking their lives to deliver it," said Peter Goossens, WFP Somalia Country Director.

A combination of conflict, drought and rising food and fuel prices means that millions of Somalis are dependent on humanitarian aid.

Mogadishu - Unknown gunmen shot dead the head of the United Nations' Development Programme as he left a mosque near his home in the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses said Monday.

Mogadishu  - Somali pirates are demanding 2 million dollars for the release of a German couple seized off the lawless Horn of Africa nation's coast, an intermediary in the negotiations said Tuesday.

Pirates abducted the couple on June 23 as they sailed through the Gulf of Aden on a trip from Egypt to Thailand.

The kidnappers then abandoned the yacht on the shore and disappeared into a nearby mountainous area with their hostages.

While the couple are in good health and being treated well, the man suffers from diabetes and has not had access to insulin for several days, the intermediary told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Nairobi  - The United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees called Friday for the deployment of an