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Drought, fighting taking a toll on Somalia

GENEVA, Switzerland, April 22 (UPI) -- U.N. officials say drought is posing a dire threat to the struggling population of Somalia at the same time internal fighting has flared up.

A spokeswoman for the United Nation's humanitarian affairs agency told Voice of America Tuesday that the situation has become so bad that even hardy camels have been dying of thirst in the parched African nation.

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"No rain means there will be a water shortage. It means that the harvest, which takes place in July or August will be very small, very poor and it means that we will have food insecurity," warned Elizabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Byrs told Voice of America some 2.5 million Somalis were in "urgent need of assistance."

The U.N. agency said earlier this month that there had been disease outbreaks associated with the drought, which was affecting the entire Horn of Africa as well.

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