NAIROBI, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The UN humanitarian agency for Somalia on Tuesday renewed calls for the immediate release of a UNHCR Somali staff member who was abducted on Saturday from his home outside the war-torn capital of Mogadishu.

    The UN said it has neither heard anything from Hassan Mohamed Ali, also known as Keynaan, nor from the armed gunmen who took him from his home.

    Ali, who is the longest-serving UNHCR staff member in Somalia, is well-known in Mogadishu as a humanitarian and human rights advocate. He and his family were displaced last year by the violence in the capital and were living in Ceelasha village, west of Mogadishu on the road to Afgooye.

    A statement from the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Mark Bowden said Ali's work has been critical in supporting internally displaced persons fleeing from violence and insecurity in Mogadishu, whose number is increasing daily.

    "His abduction threatens the whole humanitarian efforts for Somali people in the displaced area and beyond. The whole population suffers when we do not have any guarantee of safety for humanitarian workers in Somalia," said Bowden.

    He said the UN and the whole humanitarian community are deeply concerned about continued abductions and attacks when the needs of the Somali people are so great.

    The recent abduction brings to nine the number of humanitarian aid workers being held illegally throughout the country.

    "The UN appeals to all Somalis to work towards the immediate release of Ali as well as facilitate the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance to Somali people in need," Bowden said.

    More than 300,000 internally displaced Somalis are trying to survive along the Afgooye corridor which UN refugee agency chief Antonio Guterres described last week as possibly the worst place in the world to live.

    The humanitarian situation in the country has only worsened in recent months, owing to continuing insecurity, soaring food prices and a lingering drought.

    More than 1 million people are now internally displaced in Somalia while 450,000 more Somalis are living as refugees mainly in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen across the Gulf of Aden.