villagers invade Nigeria oil rig

NAIROBI – Drought in Somalia is putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk, with some forced to drink their own urine or walk the equivalent of two marathon races to find water, a relief agency said yesterday.

With east Africa facing its worst drought for years, arid Somalia is one of the worst-affected countries, with pastoralist families forced to exist on a twentieth of the daily water supply recommended by minimum standards, Oxfam said. “Many families are surviving on just a 20-litre jerry can of water for three days.This is equivalent to 830 ml, or three glasses of water, per person per day for drinking, cooking and washing,” the British-based agency said.”Oxfam’s assessment team also gathered reports of people being forced to drink their own urine because of the desperate thirst the drought has caused,” its report added.Some people were forced to trek 70 km to find water in temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius, it added.”Our assessment shows people in Somalia having to walk the equivalent of almost two marathons to collect water because nearby sources are now just cracked earth,” it said.”The burden is worst for women on whom the responsibility of weekly trips to collect water often falls.”Oxfam said it was launching emergency water operations to help up to 200 000 vulnerable Somalis and their animals, particularly in southern regions near the border with Kenya.”The situation is as bad as I can remember.Some people are dying and children are drinking their own urine because there is simply no water available for them to drink,” Somali village elder Abdullahi Maalim Hussein was quoted as saying.The Horn of Africa nation of about 10 million people has been without a functioning government since warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.Roaming militia have been targeting aid consignments.Across east Africa, hundreds of people, and tens of thousands of livestock, are believed to have died from hunger and thirst since the drought began in late 2005.- Nampa-Reuters”Many families are surviving on just a 20-litre jerry can of water for three days.This is equivalent to 830 ml, or three glasses of water, per person per day for drinking, cooking and washing,” the British-based agency said.”Oxfam’s assessment team also gathered reports of people being forced to drink their own urine because of the desperate thirst the drought has caused,” its report added.Some people were forced to trek 70 km to find water in temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius, it added.”Our assessment shows people in Somalia having to walk the equivalent of almost two marathons to collect water because nearby sources are now just cracked earth,” it said.”The burden is worst for women on whom the responsibility of weekly trips to collect water often falls.”Oxfam said it was launching emergency water operations to help up to 200 000 vulnerable Somalis and their animals, particularly in southern regions near the border with Kenya.”The situation is as bad as I can remember.Some people are dying and children are drinking their own urine because there is simply no water available for them to drink,” Somali village elder Abdullahi Maalim Hussein was quoted as saying.The Horn of Africa nation of about 10 million people has been without a functioning government since warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.Roaming militia have been targeting aid consignments.Across east Africa, hundreds of people, and tens of thousands of livestock, are believed to have died from hunger and thirst since the drought began in late 2005.- Nampa-Reuters