'20 million' face famine in conflict zones, warns NGO

By Fatih

GENEVA

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday called for urgent action to help over 20 million people facing famine in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and northeastern Nigeria.

"Inaction could mean the starvation of millions," IOM Director of Operations and Emergencies Mohammed Abdiker said.

"Severe drought conditions, conflict, insecurity, extreme violence and economic degradation have led to famine in certain areas of each country; putting millions of people's lives at risk and forcing millions to move in search of food and water," IOM spokesman Joel Millman told a news conference in Geneva.

On Feb. 20, famine was declared in parts of South Sudan due to conflict and insecurity which put about 100,000 people at risk.

Noting that the humanitarian situation in Somalia was rapidly deteriorating and the likelihood of famine was increasing, Millman said the number of people moving across the border to Ethiopia to seek food and services was also rising.

Across Yemen, 17.1 million people are currently food insecure and the crisis had reached famine conditions in some areas of the country, Millman said.

Indicating that food insecurity was also increasing in north-eastern Nigeria, Millman said ongoing Boko Haram conflict has prevented farming for many and forced nearly two million people to flee their homes.