Nation Television (in English) — broadcast from Nairobi, Kenya

[Presenter] The human rights body Amnesty International is accusing Kenyan authorities of obstructing delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia. The human rights watchdog claims that more than 140 relief trucks are being held up at the Ceel Waaq border post. It is now calling on Kenya to reopen its borders with Somalia.

[Reporter] The Kenya Somalia border was closed in January this year in the heat of the battle that led to the overthrow of the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia. The Kenyan government defended the move saying it would protect citizens living along the border but it would also mean to keep away fleeing Islamists [sentence as heard].

[Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju] Kenya will not allow combatants and their families to use this country as a base.

[Reporter] But six months down the road Amnesty International says the closure has done more than what it was intended for. The human rights watchdog wants the government to consider reopening the border to facilitate the transportation of the much-needed food aid into Somalia. In a press statement Amnesty International alleged that Kenyan authorities have for a month now prevented WFP from delivering food aid to the over 200,000 Somalis in need.

Amnesty International is now calling on the Kenyan government to live up to the international human rights law that is against the imposition of unreasonable restrictions in aid delivery and are now calling for the reopening of the Kenya-Somalia border. Inside Somalia the humanitarian situation remains dire with a number of people killed in the ongoing fighting now put at tens of thousands. Thousands more are reported to have fled their homes.