Somalia: Dryness threatens starvation

UNICEF's office in Nairobi said on Thursday that hundreds of villagers in the central part of southern Somalia left their villages for Beedawa in search of food, due to the drought which damaged their harvests.

In a statement, the office said that because of a lack of rainfall, there are fears that a food shortage and starvation will take place in this region. Several starved persons headed to Makadishu and Basil Shabil districts also to the south of the country. The UN organization added that the price of white corn, the main food for the population, is increasing.

Meanwhile, unidentified persons killed on Wednesday Somali photographer Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim in Makadishu at a rally for peace. Medical sources said that two other persons were wounded in the attack and one is in a critical condition.

The Somali human rights organization led by Ismael Jumali viewed the assassination of the photographer as an attempt to foil any peaceful settlement in Somalia. The rally was held under the patronage of the Eilman peace establishment in memory of peace advocate Eilman Ali Ahmad who was assassinated by mercenaries in 1996.

Eyewitnesses said that several thieves killed the photographer to steal his car and equipment.