Fresh fighting in Somalia's Baidoa worsens a hunger crisis, UN agencies say
30 September 2026
Children have been killed and injured in fresh fighting in Baidoa, the largest city of Somalia's South West State, UNICEF said. Clashes have broken out between Government forces and fighters loyal to the former regional president, who was ousted in March. In Baidoa alone, 26,000 people face catastrophic food insecurity, the highest level on the hunger scale. Across Somalia two million children are acutely or severely malnourished. The World Food Programme can now support just over 670,000 people, down from more than four million monthly a few years ago.
In plain words
WFP World Food Programme — The UN agency that delivers food assistance in emergencies.
El Niño Periodic warming of the central Pacific — A weather pattern that can intensify rains or droughts in different regions.