Somalia needed urgent medical aid to save thousands of malnourished children and wounded adults who were trapped in one of the most violent, lawless countries in the world, an international aid group said on Thursday.
Medecins Sans Frontieres( Doctors Without Borders) treated more than 2 500 children suffering from acute malnutrition in the towns around the capital, Mogadishu, in May alone.
More than 2 000 people have been treated for traumatic injuries since the beginning of 2008.
"Somalia is no longer on the verge of a catastrophe, the disaster is happening now," Bruno Jochum, the group's director of operations, said.
"The situation is tragic and we are unable to provide the aid necessary to prevent further deterioration of the situation," he added.
Somalis have few options for escape, because the main border crossings are closed.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and turned on each other. Thousands of civilians have been killed in Somalia since 2007, caught in vicious disputes over ancient clan loyalties, religion and government.
Somalia's shaky transitional administration was formed with the help of the United Nations in 2004, but it has failed to assert real control.
After Islamic militants seized control of Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia, the government called in troops from Ethiopia in December 2006 to oust them. An insurgency started soon after, and remains a potent and disruptive force.
The humanitarian crisis is aggravated by high global food prices and drought.
Medecins Sans Frontieres released a video from one of its clinics near Mogadishu on Thursday, showing skeletal children, and hundreds of women and babies lining up outside the clinic seeking help.
Despite the urgent need for help in Somalia, aid work there is fraught with danger. Medecins Sans Frontieres withdrew its international staff after three of its workers were killed in a landmine explosion in 2008.
On Thursday the agency called on all sides in the conflict to "guarantee safe and unhindered access" to aid workers.
Islamic insurgents vowed to target foreign aid workers after a US missile strike killed the head of the Islamist al-Shabab militia, Aden Hashi Ayro, and 24 other people in May. Ayro was reputed to be the top al-Qaeda commander in Somalia and was linked to some attacks on foreign aid workers and journalists.
Kidnappings and piracy also are on the rise in Somalia, where hijackers demand - and often receive - huge ransoms. - Sapa-AP