LOC23:14
20:14 GMT
WASHINGTON, July 20 (KUNA) -- The U.S. voiced here Wednesday its deep
concern over the humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa, urging the
international community to take additional steps to tackle immediate
assistance needs.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement "the United
States is deeply concerned by the humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa
and today's announcement by the United Nations that a famine is underway in
parts of Somalia."
She indicated that the U.S. "is the largest bilateral donor of emergency
assistance to the eastern Horn of Africa," noting "we have already responded
with over USD 431 million in food and non-food emergency assistance this year
alone."
"But it is not enough, the need is only expected to increase and more must
be done by the United States and the international community," she stressed.
She announced "that is why today the United States government is providing
an additional USD 28 million in aid for people in Somalia and for Somali
refugees in Kenya."
Clinton stressed that in Somalia, "twenty years without a central
government and the relentless terrorism by al-Shabaab against its own people
has turned an already severe situation into a dire one that is only expected
to get worse."
"Even so, we remain cautiously optimistic that al-Shabaab will permit
unimpeded international assistance in famine struck areas," she continued.
According to the U.S. top diplomat, the U.S. "in close coordination with
the international community, is working to assist more than 11 million people
in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, who are in dire need of assistance."
"But the United States cannot solve the crisis in the Horn alone. All
donors in the international community must commit to taking additional steps
to tackle both immediate assistance needs and strengthen capacity in the
region to respond to future crises," Clinton remarked. (end)
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KUNA 202314 Jul 11NNNN