SOMALIA: Puntland warns of drought

NAIROBI, 10 April 2003 (IRIN) - Parts of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland are facing serious water shortages, Puntland's acting information minister, Abdishakur Mire Adan, told IRIN on Thursday. He said the problem is most acute in the regions of Sool and Sanaag, which are claimed by both Puntland and the neighbouring self-declared republic of Somaliland. Also seriously affected by are the districts of Bargal, Iskushuban, Qandala, Alula, Badar Beyla and Qardo, all of Bari Region, and parts of Nugal Region, said Abdishakur. "We have had very little rain in the Gu season [April-June] so far and the delay of Gu season has exacerbated an already bad situation." He said the Puntland administration had dispatched fuel to some of the most seriously affected districts in Sanaag to help in the trucking of water. Abdishakur told IRIN that the Puntland authorities "do not have the wherewithal" to deal with the situation, and they had called on international aid agencies to intervene before the situation deteriorated even further. He said the first priority was to deliver water to affected areas and to distribute food to those who had lost their livestock. "Some of the population have reached the stage where they are no longer able to cope," he warned. He appealed to the international donor community to come to the aid of the people of Puntland "before it is too late".