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July 25, 2011

Somali Militants Placing Millions in Danger of Starvation: U.N. World Food Programme 
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The United Nations is holding an emergency meeting in Rome today to
address the famine in Somalia and East Africa. The U.N. World Food
Programme has said it cannot reach 2.2 million Somalis at risk of
starvation because they are in areas controlled by the militant group
al-Shabab. Melissa Fleming is a spokeswoman for the U.N. High
Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR).

Melissa Fleming, UNHCR chief spokesperson: "We are really trying our
best to work inside Somalia so that people don't have to make this
devastating, life-threatening trek into Kenya and Ethiopia. If we could
aid, and I think we all know that, if we could aid the victims on the
spot, prevent them from leaving their villages, we would not be in this
terrible situation we are seeing now."



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