1. Mid of armed Kenyan soldier in moving vehicle 2. Mid of soldiers in reversing vehicle 3. Mid of group of soldiers 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Major Seif Said Rashid, Kenyan Army: "They have freely welcomed us here. If I give example of here in Ras Kamboni, there is a lot of appreciation from the locals and maybe in addition to the security element that we are providing here, we cannot just sit back and watch the civilians suffer. So we offer limited assistance in terms of food relief and medication." 5. Wide of group of Somali women with children outside building 6. Close-up of Somali women, one holding baby 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Captain Abdi Khadir, Transitional Federal Government soldier: "Our leaders, I'm telling them, the international community, that we need many support. We are the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and they can see what the people are facing, all Somali people, the problem that they are facing, we need many support on the side of the government or on the side of the civilian. In many ways." 8. Zoom out from Somali flag on top of building 9. Wide of Kenyan soldiers and Transitional Federal Government soldiers 10. Aerial of Ras Kamboni, Somalia 11. Mid of media inside Kenyan Air Force helicopter 12. Mid of Kenyan Air Force pilots in cockpit STORYLINE: Kenyan troops and their Somali allies said on Tuesday that they will push deeper into insurgent-controlled territory in Somalia now that the rains have stopped. The pledge came as the United Nations called for 1.5 (b) billion US dollars in aid for those hit by famine in the Horn of Africa nation. A spokesman for a Kenyan-allied Somali militia at Somalia's southern tip said troops would move by the end of the year. Somalia's devastating drought, which has killed tens of thousands of people, came to an end two months ago with torrential rains in the south. Many farmers were driven off their land by the combined effects of drought and war. Humanitarian officials have warned that the effects of the crisis will last well into next year. "Our leaders, I'm telling them, the international community, that we need many support," said Captain Abdi Khadir, a Somali Transitional Federal Government soldier. According to residents in the town of Ras Kamboni, in the Lower Juba region of Somalia, the problems were exacerbated when the militant group al-Shabab levied heavy taxes on families living under their control. A Somali militia that was partly trained and funded by Kenya captured the ramshackle town about a month ago after al-Shabab insurgents withdrew. Major Seif Said Rashid of the Kenyan army said the local population urgently needed humanitarian aid. Kenyan soldiers had been doing the best they could, he said, but were stretching their resources ahead of the post-rain push. "There is a lot of appreciation from the locals and maybe in addition to the security element that we are providing here, we cannot just sit back and watch the civilians suffer. So we offer limited assistance in terms of food relief and medication," Major Seif Said Rashid said. He said international allies can help more by sending aid to the Somali people than by supporting Kenya's military. Kenya crossed the border into Somalia in an offensive against al-Shabab in October after Somali gunmen carried out several kidnappings, including of four Europeans, in Kenya. But aid agencies have been reluctant to move into areas occupied by the Kenyan forces, because they fear further attacks and worry about being too closely associated with the military. In the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, the UN's top humanitarian official for Somalia said they needed 1.5 (b) billion US dollars to fund hundreds of lifesaving projects, including food, health and education projects. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/43e07415a78085f78218b9eaf1b89668 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 30 Jul 2015
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