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Aid drops target Somali refugees | Aid drops target Somali refugees |
(about 7 hours later) | |
Air drops are under way to deliver relief supplies to more than 100,000 Somali refugees in three camps cut off by flooding in north-eastern Kenya. | |
A US Air Force Hercules transport plane has delivered tonnes of plastic sheeting, mosquito nets and blankets. | |
The UN refugee agency says the rains have ceased for the time being, but if they start again, even air drops will become difficult. | |
One million people have been displaced by floods. | |
With escalating fighting in Somalia, the UN is worried about a possible influx of refugees into Kenya at a time when the camps are struggling to cope. | |
It says the three camps at Dadaab, close to the Somali border, have been badly affected by the heavy rains of recent weeks. | |
Roads in the area are impassable and the air drops are being used as a last resort to reach refugees left without shelter. | |
'Horrendous' | |
Meanwhile, the International Red Cross says hundreds of thousands more people are on the move in southern Somalia, trying to escape severe flooding there. | Meanwhile, the International Red Cross says hundreds of thousands more people are on the move in southern Somalia, trying to escape severe flooding there. |
The Red Cross, one of the few international aid agencies still operating inside Somalia, says the floods, coming so quickly after a long drought, have combined with years of conflict to make this one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. | The Red Cross, one of the few international aid agencies still operating inside Somalia, says the floods, coming so quickly after a long drought, have combined with years of conflict to make this one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. |
Yves Degiacomi, a Red Cross water engineer, described the humanitarian situation in Somalia as "horrendous". | Yves Degiacomi, a Red Cross water engineer, described the humanitarian situation in Somalia as "horrendous". |
He said: "When you fly over the region, all you can see is water and the tips of some roofs. | He said: "When you fly over the region, all you can see is water and the tips of some roofs. |
"In addition to the lack of food and shelter, the terrible smell of rotting debris makes it even more difficult to cope with the floods." | "In addition to the lack of food and shelter, the terrible smell of rotting debris makes it even more difficult to cope with the floods." |
Floods have already killed more than 250 people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. | Floods have already killed more than 250 people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. |
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