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Regions of Somalia worst-hit by drought are now officially in famine conditions, two senior UN sources said, forcing an escalation in food deliveries into areas controlled by Islamists linked to al-Qaeda.

Aid workers in Nairobi, the de facto capital of the international response, were today finally confirming the latest figures to come from the south of the war-torn country.

"It's 99 per cent certain that tomorrow we will have to declare a full phase-five famine situation," one UN official privately told The Daily Telegraph.

Agencies led by the UN use a five-stage technical classification system to calculate when a series of indicators become so severe that a 'humanitarian emergency' tips into 'famine/humanitarian catastrophe'.

At that point, the international response must accelerate because people's ability to find any food or water whatsoever has 'disintegrated', according to Nicholas Haan, who helped design the classification.

"In south-central Somalia, we're there now," said a second senior staffer with a UN agency in Nairobi.

The last time areas of the Horn of Africa were officially declared to be in a famine is believed to have been in Ethiopia 1984, although the way the data is interpreted has since changed.

Lesotho and Niger were also hit by famines, in 2002 and 2005 respectively.

More than 11 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are in urgent need of food after two years of drought which has killed most of their animals, " their only source of food, wealth and income.

Only five areas of southern Somalia are so far to be declared under famine conditions.

All five are under control of al-Shabaab, an Islamist insurgency with links to al-Qaeda that has in the past kidnapped aid workers and extorted taxes from agencies delivering food.

Its leadership said last week that it would declare an amnesty to allow fresh food supplies to be delivered across its territory.

The Telegarph

Ur obessed with the word south. Make Du'a for all Somalia doqon yahow.

Ur obessed with the word south. Make Du'a for all Somalia doqon yahow.

may allah help our ppl in south somalia

Ur obessed with the word south. Make Du'a for all Somalia doqon yahow.

may allah help our ppl in south somalia

Puntland's Mudug Region is part of SOUTH SOMALIA.

Ur obessed with the word south. Make Du'a for all Somalia doqon yahow.

may allah help our ppl in south somalia

Puntland's Mudug Region is part of SOUTH SOMALIA.

actually the whole puntland is part of south somalia...

South Somalia = Italian Somaliland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Somaliland

How about you just say Ilahay ha u gargaro inta dhiban, Its sad to see people trying to score points on people’s misery

You know Bay region in South Central Somalia, is according to the UN, the hardest hit region this year and shockingly it has more annual rainfall than anywhere in Somalia with Baydhabo recording an average of 600mm of annual precipitation every year. Berbera records about 87mm in annual precipitation while Bossasso is possibly even less.