Famine Threatens Millions in Somalia due to Severe Drought  

A deadly famine threatens at least 4 million Somalis after a severe drought recently hit this country, local media reported.

The "Garowe Online" Somali news website revealed that millions of families in Somalia are facing great difficulties in meeting their needs for food and drinking water.

The reports of the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicate that the number of Somali citizens threatened by this crisis may increase by next May from 4 million to 4.6 million in the country, which has a total population of about 16.4 million.

According to FAO reports, the area most at risk of famine is the Galgudud area in Galmudug state, where the local administration has repeatedly requested urgent humanitarian assistance from the federal authorities and the international community.

Since the 1990s, Somalia has witnessed a long series of crises caused by climatic causes, including 12 droughts and 19 floods.

Last week, FAO asked its partner countries to send food aid to families at risk of starvation in Somalia and urged donor countries to speed up its delivery.

However, the United Nations has warned of a rise in hunger in 23 hot spots in the world in the next three months, including the Tigray region in Ethiopia, southern Madagascar, Yemen, southern Sudan, northern Nigeria and Somalia.

"Acute food insecurity is likely to worsen further," FAO and the World Food Program (WFP) said in a new report on "hunger hotspots" between August and November.

The international agencies put Ethiopia at the top of the list, saying that the number of people facing starvation and death is expected to rise to 401,000 people  - the highest number since the 2011 famine in Somalia - if humanitarian aid is not provided quickly.