Ethiopia: Situation of IDPs in Somali region deteriorating

Fears are mounting for the welfare of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in eastern Ethiopia, the United Nations warned on Friday. Disease, lack of food and dwindling water supplies are hitting the IDPs, the UN said in a special alert. "There is a need to respond with timely assistance in order to prevent the situation from deteriorating further," said the joint statement issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the government of the Somali National Regional State (SNRS). "It is necessary to speed up reintegration efforts from these areas and to secure the return of the IDPs to their areas of origin."