Enforcement of travel restrictions and a ban on trade across the Kenya/Somalia border, coupled with a prolonged drought, has created a food security crisis particularly in the southern Gedo Region of Somalia.

US intelligence officials believe that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda organisation may be moving its operations base out of Afghanistan to Somalia. Bin Laden may also be planning to follow.

Serious floods are likely to occur between October and November this year in southern Somalia.

All UN international staff were evacuated from Somalia on Monday 24 September, after insurance coverage for war-risk was withdrawn. The lapse of war-risk coverage was a result of the enormous insurance claims arising out of the attacks in the US on 11 September.

There will be a food gap of close to 22,000 mt in southern Somalia over the next 12 months. In its monthly food security report, the European Union-funded and FAO-implemented Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) estimates that according to data collected during the August harvest more than 400,000 people will be affected by the shortfall.