UPDATE 1-Somali rebels order WFP to halt relief food imports

* Insurgents control most of south

* Some 3.76 million Somalis need aid

* Fresh fighting near Kismayu port

(Adds WFP quote, al Shabaab appointments)

By Ibrahim Mohamed

MOGADISHU, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The U.N. World Food Programme must immediately stop importing relief rations to Somalia, hardline rebels said on Wednesday, accusing the aid agency of devastating local agriculture.

Al Shabaab insurgents control most of the south of the drought-ravaged country, where fighting has worsened one of the world's most acute humanitarian crises. Washington says the group is al Qaeda's proxy in the Horn of Africa nation.

WFP is a major player in the international response to the emergency. Experts say 3.76 million people -- or half the Somali population -- now need aid, and that three-quarters of those are concentrated in central and southern regions.

But in a statement, al Shabaab's self-styled Office for the Supervision of the Affairs of Foreign Agencies said imports by the U.N. organisation had become a barrier to Somalia's self-sufficiency.