BAIDOA, Somalia Sep 19 (Garowe Online) - A United Nations delegation led by human rights expert Dr. Ghanim Alnajjar that was dispatched to the Horn of Africa region to assess the humanitarian and human rights condition there was denied access to land in the southwestern Somali town of Baidoa, officials confirmed Wednesday.

Dr. Alnajjar was dispatched on a 5-day trip to visit Kenya and Somalia, where he is supposed to meet with government leaders, traditional elders, human rights workers and members of civil society, according to a press release issued by UNDP.

The plane transporting Dr. Alnajjar's delegation landed Tuesday at the Baidoa airstrip, 250km northwest of Mogadishu. But security forces at the airport ordered the delegation to return to Nairobi where they originally came from, sources said.

Mohamed Omar Dalha, first deputy Speaker of the Somali parliament, said he was not “aware” of Dr. Alnajjar's visit. He went on to apologize "if" the incident took place, adding that the UN delegation failed to inform Somali authorities of their visit.

Dr. Alnajjar's visit is important in Somalia where intermittent violence has raged since December last year when Ethiopian troops entered the country to help install the interim government in Mogadishu.

International human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have issued detailed reports highlighting "war crimes" committed by Somali-Ethiopian forces, as well as rebels fighting against the government.

Source: Garowe Online