Somalia drought kills 110 in 48 hours

  • 05/03/2017
 Boys are checked for signs of malnutrition in a government run health clinic (Getty)
Boys are checked for signs of malnutrition in a government run health clinic (Getty)

Some 110 people in southern Somalia have died within 48 hours from famine and diarrhoea, both resulting from drought, the prime minister says.

"It is a difficult situation for the pastoralists and their livestock. Some people have been hit by famine and diarrhoea at the same time," Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire's office said in a statement on Saturday.

"In the last 48 hours 110 people died due to famine and diarrhoea in Bay region," he said.

"The Somali government will do its best, and we urge all Somalis wherever they are to help and save the dying Somalis," said the statement, released after a meeting of a famine response committee.

In 2011, some 260,000 people starved to death in Somalia due to famine.

Reuters