"Somalia's northern Sool Plateau has not experienced rain for a long time and underground water reserves are drying up, while this year's Deyr rains appear once again to be failing, putting both people and livestock in a dire situation," the statement quoted WFP Somalia representative Robert Hauser as saying.

"WFP needs more funds if we are to continue our planned assistance over the next five months. We need some 6.5 million dollars to buy about 8,600 tonnes of food aid," Hauser said.

Hauser said that with the additional funds, WFP would expand assistance beyond the 64,000 people already catered for to an additional 41,200 needy people in 18 villages.

Sool Plateau covers parts of Sool and Sanaag districts on the border between the self-declared republic of Somaliland in the northwest and semi-autonomous northeast administration of Puntland.

"Pastoral families in rural Somalia depend largely on the sale of animals and milk to survive, but the wells and watering holes have dried up over the past three years and herds of livestock have been devastated," the statement warned.

Most parts of Somalia have suffered similar food problems since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991 and the Horn of Africa country was left without a central government and plunged into bloodletting and violence.

Somali warlords, clan leaders, interim government officials and representatives from civil society have since October last year been attending talks in Kenya aimed at restoring a national administration.

TERRA.WIRE