Somalia famine: UN warns of 750,000 deaths

Some 750,000 could die in Somalia unless aid is stepped up, the UN warns

Up to 750,000 people could die as Somalia's drought worsens in the coming months, the UN has warned, declaring a famine in a new area.

The UN says tens of thousands of people have died after what is said to be East Africa's worst drought for 60 years.
Bay becomes the sixth area to be officially declared a famine zone - mostly in parts of southern Somalia controlled by the Islamist al-Shabab.
Some 12 million people across the region need food aid, the UN says.
A sixth region of Somalia has been declared a famine area by the UN, which warns the situation will only worsen in the coming months.
The number of people dying in the southern Bay region has now passed the threshold to be defined a famine, the UN says.
"In total, 4 million people are in crisis in Somalia, with 750,000 people at risk of death in the coming four months in the absence of adequate response," the UN's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) says.
Half of those who have already died are children, it says.
Neighbouring Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda have also been affected by the severe lack of rain.
Kenya hunger worsening But 20 years of fighting and the lack of a national government mean that Somalia is by far the worst affected country.

The UN-backed authority controls the capital, Mogadishu but few other areas.

Tens of thousands of Somalis have fled their country to seek help.
BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says it is still hard for humanitarian agencies to reach the population in areas controlled by the Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab.
The al-Qaeda-linked group controls much of southern Somalia - the worst hit part of the country - and restrict the work of international aid agencies.
Some al-Shabab officials have accused Western aid groups of exaggerating the scale of the crisis for political reasons.
Some food aid is getting there but not on the scale that is needed, our correspondent says.
Even if there is rainfall in October or November people will need food aid for several more months until the crops have grown.
In Kenya's Wajir district, just across the border from Somalia, health workers are reporting an increase in the number of malnourished children.
Weakened by the lack of food they are more susceptible to disease.
The drought is still taking its toll on the livestock - people living in the arid areas of Kenya depend on their animals for their livelihood and with no rain expected for several weeks the crisis is still deepening despite the presence of aid agencies, our correspondent says.

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