Canada, Belgium to Help Somalia; U.N. Peacekeepers’ Arrival Delayed

Canada said Friday that its planes will join the food airlift to starving Somalia, and Belgium agreed to send 550 paratroopers for a U.N. force that will guard relief operations in the lawless nation.

But other relief efforts suffered delays Friday. The arrival of the first 60 U.N. peacekeepers was put off until next week, and several aid flights had to be canceled.

Meanwhile, Switzerland said it is investigating U.N. allegations that Swiss and Italian companies are trying to profit from the breakdown of central authority in Somalia to dump toxic waste here.

The United Nations postponed airdrops of food to rural Somali villages until the weekend to better organize ground operations, said a spokeswoman for the U.N. World Food Program in Kenya.

Seven U.S. military planes flying food aid to the western town Belet Huen were forced to return to their base in Kenya. Angry drivers for a Somali trucking firm that lost a contract to haul the food parked trucks on the village’s runway, U.S. officials said.

Drought and warfare have killed tens if not hundreds of thousands of Somalis, and hundreds more perish daily.

Top U.N. officials said Friday that the United Nations is planning a huge increase in its relief operations. U.N. Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Eliasson said the relief drive will include both emergency aid and long-term assistance.