Somali Famine Victims Scared to Return Home

November 22, 2011

Four months after the U.N. declared famine in much of Somalia, several regions are finally beginning a slow recovery -- but some Somali refugees say they won't return home, CNSNews.com reports. Somali women living in the town of Dolo on the Ethiopian border are afraid of hardline Islamist militants stalking their home regions and of being unable to feed themselves, and many others who fled to Kenya and Ethiopia share similar concerns. Drought wiped out much of Somalia's crops, and the famine was made more severe by al Shabaab militants impeding the work of aid agencies. Additionally, Kenyan forces have recently moved into southern Somalia to battle the Islamic extremists, which has prevented food supplies from being delivered. The conflicts are expected to keep food production at only 30 percent of Somalia's needs, even as the rainy season approaches. Tens of thousands have died, and U.N. officials say it could be a year before anyone is sure the danger has passed.