Bob Geldof urges Britons to keep giving

LONDON, March 4 (UPI) -- British singer Bob Geldof says people must not stop donating to charity over charges Band Aid dollars ended up in the hands of Ethiopian rebels.

The rock musician turned fundraiser said "it would be a (expletive) tragedy" if the British people stopped giving because of allegations 95 percent of the money donated to help victims of the 1985 Ethiopian famine was siphoned off, The Times of London reported Thursday.

"If that percentage of money had been diverted, far more than a million people would have died," Geldof told The Times. "It's possible that in one of the worst, longest-running conflicts on the continent some money was mislaid."

The BBC, citing CIA documents and interviews with former rebels, said militant leaders posed as merchants to obtain money from famine aid groups.

The funds were then used to purchase weapons for the rebels' attempt to overthrow the government, the BBC said.