"NAIROBI — Famine in parts of southern Somalia has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly children, the United Nations said Wednesday in an official declaration of what aid officials describe as the worst humanitarian crisis in the troubled country in two decades.

The famine declaration comes months after U.N. and other aid agencies began sounding the alarm about a devastating drought in the Horn of Africa, where an estimated 10 million people need help. The crisis has been aggravated by civil strife, the lowest rainfall rates in half a century and sharp increases in food prices."

Sudarsan Raghavan reports for the Washington Post July 20, 2011.
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SEE ALSO:

"Eleven Million at Risk in Horn of Africa" (IPS) [3]

"Millions Facing Misery in Somalia Famine" (AFP) [4]