Video by David Blair
22 December 2011 The United Nations says that 250,000 Somalis are suffering from famine in three regions including Mogadishu, a fact that Abdiweli Mohammed Ali, who leads Somalia’s officially recognised government, has denied. “I don’t believe there’s a famine in Mogadishu. Absolutely no,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “You know the aid agencies became an entrenched interest group and they say all kind of things that they want to say.” Mr Ali leads a government that depends almost completely on outside donations. Our reporter visited a UN feeding centre in the city, where he found hundreds of starving women with their children seeking food. Despite the prime minister’s claims, Britain today announced it will be providing more than 9,000 tonnes of food supplies and medicines to drought-ravaged regions in the Horn of Africa this Christmas.

East Africa famine: Somali prime minister denies food shortage