Somali femine killed 260 000

Half of them were children under the age of five, says the report by the UN and the US-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net).The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said humanitarian aid needed to be provided more quickly. The crisis was caused by a severe drought, worsened by conflict between rival groups fighting for power. The number of deaths was higher than the estimated 220,000 people who died during the 1992 famine. Western aid group ban

Rudi Van Aaken, the deputy head of the FAO operation for Somalia, told the BBC that the response had been too slow."I think the main lesson learned is that the humanitarian community should be ready to take early action - respond early on."