35 Tons of Lebanese Aid Airlifted to Somalia’s Famine Victims

A Trans Mediterranean Airlines plane carrying 35 tons of food and medical aid headed to the Somali capital of Mogadishu to help the country’s famine victims, the National News Agency reported Friday.

NNA said the TMA flight took off from Rafik Hariri international airport at 7:00 am. The plane is carrying 33 tons of food and 2 tons of medicine and medical equipment.

The donation is made by the Higher Relief Council in cooperation with the health ministry and Dar al-Fatwa.

Dar al-Fatwa official Riyad Itani, a representative of the HRC Mohammed Mamlouk and Abdullah Berri along with a delegation from the health ministry and journalists were aboard the plane.

The U.N. says more than 3.2 million Somalis — nearly half the population — need food aid after a severe drought that has been complicated by Somalia's long-running war. More than 450,000 Somalis live in famine zones controlled by al-Qaida-linked militants, where aid is difficult to deliver. The U.S. says 29,000 Somali children under the age of 5 already have died.