A/HRC/12/44 page 10 forces, backed by AMISOM peacekeepers, battled insurgent groups. The fighting was concentrated near the presidential palace, as is often the case. The 11 July 2009 attack claimed the life of Nor Daqli, head of security for Mogadishu and the surrounding Benadir region. A foreign fighter was among those killed. 35. Three aid workers from Action against Hunger were kidnapped in Mandera, Kenya, and taken across the border into Somalia on 18 July. In May 2009, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) compound in Jowhar was entered and looted. On 20 July 2009, two United Nations compounds were broken into and looted in Baidoa and Wajid by Al-Shabaab forces. At the same time, Al-Shabaab released a statement calling for the closure of offices of three United Nations agencies in Somalia. The group accused the agencies of “working against the benefits of the Somali Muslim population and against the establishment of an Islamic State in Somalia”. 36. Insecurity was the reason why some 36,000 Somalis sought refuge in Kenya in the first half of 2009, while some 12,000 people have found temporary shelter in the town of Boosaaso in northern Somalia since 7 May. Most of them are reportedly awaiting the opportunity offered by smugglers to take them on the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden. After a review of security arrangements in the aftermath of the bombing of the UNDP office in Hargeisa in October 2008, United Nations activities inside Somalia were scaled down and the number of international staff members were lowered. Several critical programmes in Mogadishu are maintained by a small number of national staff. 37. In the light of the continuation of direct threats against United Nations staff, a further significant expansion of activities will require more robust security arrangements and improved contingency support. The announcement in late July 2009 by the insurgents of a ban on the activities of UNDP, UNPOS and the Department of Safety and Security in areas under their control, as reported earlier, will particularly affect decisions in this regard. This development, however, offers an opportunity for the United Nations bodies concerned and others to consider innovative or alternative ways of dealing with the situation in Somalia. The independent expert will return to this point below. B. Humanitarian situation 38. The humanitarian crisis in Somalia has continued to deepen owing to the ongoing conflicts, drought, inflation and continued lack of humanitarian access to the most badly affected areas. According to a United Nations food security assessment, in August 2009, some 3.7 million people or 50 per cent of the population of Somalia were in need of livelihood and humanitarian support, up from 3.2 million in January 2009. The drought is worsening in the central regions and has extended to the northern parts of the country. Increased food insecurity is exacerbated by diseases caused by poor access to health services. One in five Somali children is acutely malnourished, compared to one in six in February. On a more positive note, parts of southern Somalia recorded a nearly normal crop production thanks to good rains from April to June 2009. 39. The levels of severe acute malnutrition warrant sustained humanitarian relief efforts. In addition, the compounded effects of prolonged drought, hyperinflation of staple commodity