Drought Fuels Somalia Conflict

Pope Urges End to “Indifference” Over Famine

Modern Ghana
August 1, 2011

More than 12 million people in the horn of Africa are now suffering from the worst draught in decades. Although the United Nations declared a famine in two regions in southern Somalia, the effects of the drought are being felt across the war-torn country. Aid agencies have increased efforts to assist the worst affect areas in Somalia and the UN’s World Food Programme has begun airlifting food into the capital of Mogadishu despite continued fighting in the city.

The underlying conflict in Somalia is only exacerbated by the drought. The Vatican’s official daily, Osservatore Romano, state that there is “a race against time” to save the people of Somalia and that the international community must take a more active mediation role between rival Somali clans to prevent further crisis. The US President Barack Obama called for a quick international response to avoid “a looming humanitarian crisis in Eastern Africa.

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