14 people were killed on Friday in drought-ravaged Somalia's southwestern city of Baidoa after refugees and soldiers clashed over food aid.
14 people were killed on Friday in drought-ravaged Somalia's southwestern city of Baidoa after refugees and soldiers clashed over food aid.
Associated Press reports that the clashes started in a distribution site after some soldiers tried to steal food sacks meant for refugees and other soldiers guarding the aid stopped them. 20 people were injured with some left in serious condition.
According to UN, Somalia alongside Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen make up the world's largest humanitarian disaster in more than 70 years. $4.4bn is needed to avert catastrophic hunger and famine. Data indicates more than half a million people across the country have been displaced.
In Somalia, thousands of people have been flooding Baidoa and other Somali cities in search of food and support, overwhelming local and international aid agencies.
Baidoa is home to one of the largest populations of displaced people, with more than 142,000 recorded as of mid-May, according to the International Organisation for Migration. The majority of those displaced in Baidoa are children and teens.
Drought-stricken families often have to move from one place to another to reach aid agencies that cannot distribute food in areas under the control of al-Shabab, Somalia's homegrown Islamic extremist group that is affiliated to Al-Qaeda.
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