Over 4.4m Somalis face severe hunger amid growing conflict

AFP | Nairobi

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More than four million people in Somalia face “acute food insecurity”, while over 100,000 have been displaced by conflict since June, its disaster authorities said yesterday.

Somalia is grappling with a resurgence of the extremist militant group Al-Shabaab, alongside clashes between regional forces and the federal army. The Horn of Africa nation is among the most vulnerable to climate change, according to the United Nations, and in the last five years has experienced both the worst drought in four decades and once-in-a-century flooding.

The food crisis has surged 29 percent since earlier this year, driven by prolonged drought, conflict and reduced humanitarian assistance, the Somali Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA) said.

“Somalia faces a severe food security crisis with an estimated 4.4 million people experiencing acute food insecurity,” SoDMA said in an X statement.