The famine gripping parts of southern Somalia has spread to three new areas of the country, with the entire south likely to be declared a famine zone within the next six weeks, Reuters quoted the United Nations as saying on Wednesday. Acute malnutrition and death rates surpassed famine thresholds in the Balcad and Cadale districts of Middle Shabelle, and among the refugee populations in Mogadishu and the Afgoye corridor, said a statement from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation's Somalia food security unit. "(The) current humanitarian response remains inadequate, due in part to ongoing access restrictions and difficulties in scaling up emergency assistance programs, as well as funding gaps," said the statement. Much of southern Somalia is controlled by al Shabaab Islamist militants who last year banned food aid and kicked many aid groups out of the region, exacerbating the drought crisis. Famine conditions were expected to persist across southern Somalia until the end of the year, the statement said. Each day hundreds of drought-hit Somalis are streaming into squalid camps in and around Mogadishu, defying rebel orders to stay put and walking into a war zone. The start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan two days ago coincided with a new offensive by African peacekeepers and government forces against the insurgents and a jump in rebel suicide attack threats. The violence has compromised the delivery of emergency aid to some 100,000 refugees who have arrived in Mogadishu in the last two months, bringing the total to around 400,000. -- SPA
