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Somalia Famine's Brutal Toll: 29K Kids Dead in 3 Months

All under the age of 5, according to the US

By Kate Schwartz,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 4, 2011 7:42 AM CDT

(Newser) – The UN has said that the famine in Somalia has killed tens of thousands, and the first specific estimate to emerge paints an even more heartbreaking picture. More than 29,000 children under the age of five have died in just the last 90 days in the southern part of the country, a US official told a congressional committee yesterday. The UN yesterday added three new regions in Somalia to the area deemed a famine zone, and noted that 3.2 million of the country's 7.5 million people require immediate lifesaving aid, reports the AP. (Click for more news on the toll the famine is taking on Somalia's children.)

A malnourished child from southern Somalia cries on his mother's lap, at a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia.
A malnourished child from southern Somalia cries on his mother's lap, at a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia.   (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
A child from southern Somalia takes food at a camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Wednesday, Aug 3, 2011.
A child from southern Somalia takes food at a camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Wednesday, Aug 3, 2011.   (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
Aden, a three-year-old Somali refugee with his father Abdille, recovers at the stabilization centre at Hagadere refugee area on August 2, 2011.recruit men trying to escape the famine.. AFP PHOTO/Tony KARUMBA
Aden, a three-year-old Somali refugee with his father Abdille, recovers at the stabilization centre at Hagadere refugee area on August 2, 2011.recruit men trying to escape the famine.. AFP PHOTO/Tony...   (Getty Images)
Aden, a three-year-old Somali refugee with his father Abdille, is fed at the stabiliaation centre at Hagadere refugee area on August 2, 2011.
Aden, a three-year-old Somali refugee with his father Abdille, is fed at the stabiliaation centre at Hagadere refugee area on August 2, 2011.   (Getty Images)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 14 comments
ballen
Aug 4, 2011 10:56 AM CDT
This is genocide--these poor people who have done nothing but try to exist and what an existence is must be in the best of times for them.  Humanity is cruel and that is hard to accept.  These people are being murdered for nothing other than the color of their skin.
newsaddict
Aug 4, 2011 8:49 AM CDT
For some Somalian, it's die or become a pirate and feed your child or your family.  I wonder how much aid is taken before it reaches its intended recipient.
NationalSovereignty
Aug 4, 2011 8:06 AM CDT
Queue the liberal talking points about "No government and Somalia".. There's a big difference between a stable country and a culture of theft and murder. That's all they've known for a few decades now, Pretty sick that liberals would use this to advance their agenda.

 
Somalia • hunger • famine • starvation • Somalia famine

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