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Red Cross gives over 5,000 Somali detainees Ramadan support

Red Cross gives over 5,000 Somali detainees Ramadan support

Somalia

Over 5,000 detainees in Somlia’s detention centers are benefiting from Ramadan support packages being delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“The holy month of Ramadan is significant for all Muslims and gives us an opportunity to remember that this period is also important to detainees in Somalia,” said Ahmed Zaroug, the ICRC’s Protection Coordinator in Somalia.

“We hope this assistance will help detainees observe the fast with dignity,” he added.

The package includes food supplies such as goat meat, milk powder, tea leaves, sugar and dates. Copies of Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an are being distributed.

To mark Ramadan ICRC is giving food, Qurans to detainees in #Somalia https://t.co/tYyhuAn0q0 pic.twitter.com/fD1d1neSxI

— ICRC Africa (ICRC_Africa) June 6, 2016

This is the third year the ICRC started the Ramadan distribution project. This year, it is happening in 29 places of detention.

ICRC teams visit prisons, police stations and state security facilities across the world to “secure humane and dignified treatment for persons deprived of liberty.”

It is estimated that over 3,000 detainees were reached acrosa Somalia between January and March 2016.

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