Thousands may starve due to drought, says TFG

The Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has appealed for international food aid, saying thousands of people in parts of southern Somalia may starve unless urgently needed help arrives.

"The information we are getting is that thousands, if not tens of thousands, are on the verge of starvation," Abdirahaman Dinari, TFG spokesman, said on Thursday. "If help does not arrive soon, it may be too late for many of them."

Dinari compared the current drought to that experienced in Somalia in 1992, which claimed the lives hundreds of thousands of people and led to the American-led Operation Restore Hope.

The situation is most serious in the Gedo and Bakool regions in south-central Somalia, he said.

The TFG has set up a ministerial committee - led by Salim Aliyow Ibrow, who is the deputy prime minister and minister of finance - to "collect data from the affected regions and act as interlocutors with the international community".

Dinari said the TFG had sent out two appeals "but so far we have not seen any tangible assistance coming in".

Amanda di Lorenzo, information officer at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for Somalia, said humanitarian agencies were waiting for an assessment by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Security Analysis Unit for Somalia following the deyr, or short, rains to get "a clearer understanding on the actual magnitude of the crisis".

She was not optimistic. "Given the failed 2005 deyr performance at the end of 2005, a severely worsened humanitarian situation is forecast for Somalia - particularly in the south - for the next six months," she said.

Di Lorenzo said OCHA would hold an interagency Humanitarian Response Group meeting on 18 January to discuss the way forward.

Aid agencies have had serious problems reaching those in need because of insecurity in the region.

However, Dinari said the security situation in the affected areas was not "as bad as is reported" and that the government would ensure that local authorities provided security for the aid workers.