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22 more Somali children starve to death
22 more Somali children starve to death
Sat Aug 13, 2011 10:10PM GMT
PressTV - 22 more Somali children starve to death
Twenty-two more Somali children have starved to death in Mogadishu because of the unrelenting famine caused by the country's worst drought in decades.
The children died over the past few hours in the Dharkenley and Hoosh districts of southern Mogadishu, the Press TV correspondent in Mogadishu reported on Saturday.
The United Nations has warned that more than thirteen children out of every 10,000 aged less than five die in the Somalia famine zone every day.
"This means that 10 per cent of children under five are dying every 11 weeks. These figures are truly heart-wrenching," UN representative to Somalia Augustine Mahiga told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, thousands of people are fleeing the drought and famine conditions in the southern districts of Mogadishu and are en route to Elasha Biyaha village, located 17 kilometers (11 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, and Afgoye town, situated about 30 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of the Somali capital, in search of food and water.
The drought and famine have affected more than 11.8 million people across Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Somalia has been the hardest-hit country in what is being described as the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in 60 years.
According to the United Nations, it is estimated that a quarter of Somalia's population of 9.9 million are now either internally displaced or living outside the country as refugees.
The UN has declared famine in five regions in Somalia and says that the international humanitarian response to the crisis has been insufficient.
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
MP/HGL
Sat Aug 13, 2011 10:10PM GMT
PressTV - 22 more Somali children starve to death
Twenty-two more Somali children have starved to death in Mogadishu because of the unrelenting famine caused by the country's worst drought in decades.
The children died over the past few hours in the Dharkenley and Hoosh districts of southern Mogadishu, the Press TV correspondent in Mogadishu reported on Saturday.
The United Nations has warned that more than thirteen children out of every 10,000 aged less than five die in the Somalia famine zone every day.
"This means that 10 per cent of children under five are dying every 11 weeks. These figures are truly heart-wrenching," UN representative to Somalia Augustine Mahiga told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, thousands of people are fleeing the drought and famine conditions in the southern districts of Mogadishu and are en route to Elasha Biyaha village, located 17 kilometers (11 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, and Afgoye town, situated about 30 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of the Somali capital, in search of food and water.
The drought and famine have affected more than 11.8 million people across Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Somalia has been the hardest-hit country in what is being described as the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in 60 years.
According to the United Nations, it is estimated that a quarter of Somalia's population of 9.9 million are now either internally displaced or living outside the country as refugees.
The UN has declared famine in five regions in Somalia and says that the international humanitarian response to the crisis has been insufficient.
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
MP/HGL
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