Geneva (ANTARA News/AFP) - The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday it remains committed to helping Somalis but regrets the decision by Islamist Shebab rebels ordering it to close its emergency relief operations.

"ICRC regrets the decision of the Office for Supervising the Affairs of Foreign Agencies of the Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen to terminate the agreement under which the ICRC was allowed to deliver emergency food aid in Al-Shabaab administered areas of Somalia," it said in a statement.

Somalia`s Islamist Shebab rebels on Monday banned the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), ordering it to close its emergency relief operations in the war-torn regions it controls.

The ICRC said it provided more than 1.2 million people living in central and southern Somalia with one-month food rations between June and December 2011. (*)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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