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               S O M A L I A  N E W S  U P D A T E

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No 9                 September 3, 1992.               ISSN 1103-1999

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Somalia News Update is published irregularly via electronic mail and
fax. Questions can be directed to antbh@strix.udac.uu.se or to fax
number +46-18-151160. All material is free to quote as long as the
source is stated.
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SOMALIA NEWS UPDATE	SEPTEMBER 3	8:00 GMT


	JAKARTA, Indonesia (UPI) -- Kenyan President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi
issued an urgent appeal to the international community Wednesday to help
ease mass starvation in Somalia and economic devastation throughout the
African continent.
	Speaking at the 10th Non-Aligned Movement summit, Moi said plunging
foreign investment, growing protectionism in the West, a prolonged
drought and political turmoil were ravaging Africa.
	Moi said attempts by African governments and multilateral
institutions to foster development had been crippled by foreign debt
servicing, which he said amounted to $25 billion annually.
	``On average, the people of Africa live on or below the poverty line,
'' he said. ``They cannot afford to repay the debt while at the same
time survive.''
	Moi called for more aid to ease the plight of millions of people
caught in the middle of Somalia's more than 4-year-old conflict.
	``Up to 75 percent of the nearly 7 million Somalian people...have
died or are facing sudden death due to hunger,'' he said. ``I want to
appeal to all the people of good will everywhere to come to the aid of
the suffering in Africa, especially in Somalia.''
	The United Nations said Monday it would send another 79,200 tons of
food to the starving country. It previously committed 75,900 tons, about
half of which has been delivered.
	U.N. officials said one ton of food was enough to feed about 2,000
people for one day.
	Despite U.N. and other international aid efforts, relief officials
say up to 1,000 people, most of them children, die each day from
starvation in Somalia.
	While most Non-Aligned delegates have expressed concern over alleged
human rights abuses by Serbian forces against Bosnian Muslims in what is
left of war-shattered Yugoslavia, only a handful have mentioned the
crisis in Somalia.
	The summit groups leaders of 108 developing countries and movements.
It runs from Sept. 1 to 6.


Comment: While we should welcome president Moi's appeal on behalf of the 
Somalis, we should also recognize that a number of appeals related to
the Somali crisis can be directed to Mr Moi himself. If the Kenyan
army could be convinced that the border to Somalia needs to be hermetically
sealed for all transports of weapons, an important contribution would be
made towards creating stability in the southern regions.