Dual blow

Somalia: Al-Shabaab making drought even worse, says President Mohamud

By Anne-Marie Bissada

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Posted on November 11, 2022 16:27

© Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on 8 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (photo: Somali presidency) — Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on 8 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (photo: Somali presidency)

Kenya is bracing for the arrival of tens of thousands more refugees from Somalia in the coming weeks due to worsening drought and hunger. But Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has so far held back on declaring a famine in the country, even though such a declaration could increase the flow of aid.

Mohamud says while drought is a natural disaster, it is being complicated by the Islamist terrorist group al-Shabaab in the rural areas hit hard by the drought.

Speaking to The Africa Report on the sidelines of the COP27 climate conference, he explained how al-Shabaab is undermining Somali farmers’ agricultural practices.

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