SOMALIA: UN Says Tensions Heighten Food Crisis
The Reuters’ AlertNet reports:
The United Nations warned of a looming food crisis in Somalia on Wednesday, brought on by patchy seasonal rains and rising military tensions. “Somalia is in deep crisis. Additional tension or conflict would be disastrous,†said Henri Josserand, a senior official at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
“We are watching the situation very closely.â€
For the third consecutive season, the FAO added in a statement, little rainfall earlier in the year meant the harvest of the main cereal crops in August was expected to be poor. At the same time, rising tensions between armed groups and reports of a military build-up around the seat of the transitional government in Baidoa were seen as a major threat. Fighters loyal to a union of Islamic courts took the capital Mogadishu from U.S.-backed warlords in June and are in a standoff with the government that has raised fears of war.