Mogadishu's main airport, used to ferry food and medicine to Somalia's hungry, was closed Wednesday after gunmen repeatedly demanded payment to allow relief flights to land.
A U.N. military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the airport would remain closed for at least two days.The action apparently is meant to allow negotiations over airport security or simply to demonstrate to the gunmen that the airport could be closed permanently if problems persist.
Most traffic will be diverted to a dirt runway 30 miles away that is difficult to reach because of rugged roads. Relief officials said the closing would not stop deliveries but would make them more difficult.
"It takes you more than an hour to this other place, it costs time, quite a lot," said Horst Hamborg, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
He said the closure of Mogadishu International Airport could be more serious if the Red Cross needs to bring in emergency medicines.
Banditry, looting and clan warfare have severely hobbled international efforts to feed the starving in Somalia. More than 100,000 already have died and another 2 million face the imminent risk of starvation because of a famine created by drought and war.
Some aid officials estimate that at least half of the more than 181,500 tons of food and supplies delivered to Somalia this year has been stolen.
The airport closing comes after almost daily arguments between U.N. officials and Somali militiamen, who frequently emphasize their points with gunfire.