Two commit suicide after they livestock to drought

Two more poverty-ridden nomads have committed suicide in Somalia’s northern regional state of Puntland after they lost their animals to severe drought that hit many parts of Somalia.

Abdikani Qorane, a traditional elder said the men killed themselves at their house in Burtinle village.

“They (Men) lost all their livestock because of perennial drought that has continued to hit parts of Somalia and that led forced the two to commit suicide,” said Qorane.

The drought that across Somalia’s region left hundreds of thousands of Somalis food insecurity and water shortages.

According to UN Office for Coordinating of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly 1.1 million Somalis are internally displaced. More than 320,000 children under the age of five years, or one in eight, are currently estimated to be acutely malnourished and are need of urgent nutrition support.

Northern Somali areas in semi-autonomous Puntland state are facing a serious shortage of water and pastures after several water points dried up the last few months as a result of dry spell that has hit in the region.

The worst drought to have hit Somalia in recent time was in 2011 when it was declared a famine.