CAIRO MAY 12, 2017 (CISA) – The Egyptian Army has transported a cargo-plane filled with food and medical aid to Somalia in an effort to support the drought-stricken country.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi directed the delivery facilitated by the army, state news agency MENA reported May 11.
The drought in Somalia has affected harvests and livestock in the war-torn country, and dried up waterholes in East Africa posing threat of renewed famine six years after a similar crisis in which 260,000 people died in 2011.
According to the UN, about six million Somalis, around half the population, need aid.
Authorities say the cities of Baidoa and Kismayu are the hardest hit, with a population of 700,000 affected.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), thousands are fleeing to neighbouring Ethiopia, where drought is also causing immense hardship, with more than 100,000 people displaced since the start of the year.
