Nairobi - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Thursday warned that it may have to stop distributing food in conflict-stricken Somalia if the safety of its staff cannot be guaranteed.

Two WFP staff have been shot and killed in Somalia this year, adding to the five killed in 2008.

"Our only goal in Somalia as an impartial international organization is to alleviate the suffering of the Somali people," said WFP Deputy Chief Operating Officer Ramiro Lopes da Silva. "We cannot do that when our courageous staff are being targeted."

A bloody insurgency that began in early 2007 has claimed the lives of over 16,000 civilians. Islamist insurgents have consistently target humanitarian workers during the conflict.

Some 3.25 million people in Somalia, almost half the population, are dependent on food aid as a result of the conflict, drought and rising food prices.

The WFP said it was committed to feeding these people, but needed security guarantees in order to continue doing so.

"We want community leaders to step forward and offer us clear assurances that WFP workers will be able to carry out their humanitarian work in safety," Lopes da Silva said.

"We will continue distributing food in those areas where we receive concrete security commitments, but we will not work in areas where security commitments are absent," he added.

However, the security situation is expected to only worsen as Ethiopian troops quit the Horn of Africa nation.

Ethiopia, which invaded in late 2006 to kick out hardline Islamist regime the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), this month left Mogadishu, tired of political infighting that had hamstrung the Somali government.

Analysts have warned that the departure of Ethiopia's 3,000 troops could lead to more anarchy in the Horn of Africa nation as Islamist insurgents and other militias struggle to seize power.

Others hope that the Ethiopian departure and the resignation of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed can give fresh impetus to a UN-backed peace process.

The Horn of Africa nation has been mired in chaos since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. (dpa)