Somalis in need of urgent aid

MOGADISHU, Somalia, July 18 (UPI) -- Ongoing violence and a devastating drought in Somalia have forced millions of people into a situation where the need for aid has become urgent.

Aid from the U.N. World Food Program that is meant for Somalia has been under constant threat from militants attacking trucks on roadways along with violent piracy against cargo ships in the country's coastal waters.

Somalia is suffering from an ongoing drought that has resulted in a poor harvest. These conditions, among others, have left as much as 35 percent of the population in Somalia in need of urgent food aid, the United Nations reported.

"Somalia is at a dire crossroads," Peter Goossens, World Food Program country director for Somalia, said in a statement.

"If sufficient food and other humanitarian assistance cannot be scaled up in the coming months, parts of the country could well be in the grips of disaster similar to the 1992-1993 famine, when hundreds of thousands of people perished."

U.N. officials estimate the number of people in need of aid could swell to 3.5 million before December.