MOGADISHU, July 13 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 112,448 people have been displaced in June by a severe drought that is ravaging several parts of Somalia, a 231 percent increase compared to May, the United Nations humanitarian agency said on Wednesday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said this significant increase in displacements was driven by the Banadir region, which received 60 percent of the new arrivals.
Banadir is an administrative region in southeastern Somalia and covers the same area as the city of Mogadishu, which serves as the capital.
Banadir excluded, main new arrivals have been observed in Lower Shabelle (6 percent), Sool (6 percent), Togdheer (5 percent), Gedo (4 percent), and Mudug (4 percent) regions.
The UN agency on June 24 appealed for 993.3 million U.S. dollars to provide life-saving and life-sustaining assistance to prevent famine and respond to the drought in Somalia by December.
The OCHA said the impact of the drought and increasing economic pressures are deepening the severity of needs and driving the country to the brink of famine.
According to the UN, nearly 50 percent of the population - 7.7 million people - require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, of whom 7 million are estimated to be affected by the drought. ■