UN WARNS OF LOOMING HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY IN SOMALIA

Despite improved security in some parts of Somalia following a military operation against Al Shabaab earlier this year, the fragile humanitarian situation in the country could become an emergency unless funds are made available to support life-saving interventions, Philippe Lazzarini, the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia and UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, has said. While addressing a press conference in the capital, Mogadishu, Lazzarini said Somalia risked drifting back into a humanitarian crisis, with the already fragile food security situation likely to worsen in the coming months as a result of delayed rains, continued conflict and rising food prices.