The UN Security Council raised concerns Monday over the plight of Somali people suffering famine and called on all parties to allow relief groups access to the hardest-hit regions in southern Somalia, according to dpa. The 15-nation Security Council was briefed about the situation in Somalia and the Horn of Africa and the urgent need for money to pay for relief operations in the whole region, where persistent, severe drought has affected more than 11 million people. German Ambassador Peter Wittig, president of the council for July, said Security Council members called for all governments to contribute to the appeal for more than 1 billion dollars to bring food aid to the famine-hit areas for the next six months. Donor countries have so far contributed only half of the needed amount. "Members of the Security Council expressed grave concerns at the famine affecting the regions in southern Somalia and the acute malnutrition in parts of the Horn of Africa triggered by the drought," Wittig said.
