Famine Spreads In Somalia, Killing Hundreds Daily

A malnourished child from southern Somalia sits in Banadir hospital in Mogadishu.

The United Nations has warned that as many as 750,000 people could die in the coming four months after what is said to be East Africa's worst drought for 60 years.

The UN declared a famine in a sixth region in southern Somalia, mostly controlled by the radical Islamist Al-Shabab group.

The organization says that hundreds of people were dying each day and at least half of them were children.

Tens of thousands of Somalis have fled their country to seek help.

Neighboring Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda have also been affected by the severe lack of rain, and the UN said some 12 million people across the region need food aid.

compiled from agency reports