Africa

Home page

Africa

Somalia famine killed 29 000 children last three months

05 August 2011 11:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. A U.S. official says the famine in Somalia has killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 during the last three months. The United Nations has said that tens of thousands of people have died in the Horn of Africa’s drought and famine, but the U.S. estimate is the first precise death toll offered in the crisis, APA reports quoting the foreign news agencies. The U.N. on Wednesday declared three new regions in Somalia famine zones. Out of a population of roughly 7.5 million, the U.N. says 3.2 million Somalis are in need of immediate lifesaving assistance. Even before Somalia’s worst drought in 60 years, many of the country’s children have only known strife during their lives. Getting aid to the country has been difficult because radical al-Shabab group controls much of the country’s most desperate areas.