AMMAN (JT) - A Royal Jordanian Air Force aircraft carrying a 10-tonne shipment of humanitarian assistance and medical equipment will leave for Somalia today, upon the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah.

The King on Saturday instructed the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) to dispatch relief aid to the Somali people suffering from the worst drought and starvation in six decades, JHCO Secretary General Ahmad Amyan said yesterday.

As part of the effort, JHCO, several Jordanian institutions, charity societies and donors have financed a food campaign seeking to feed 2,000 families for two months at one of the Somali refugee camps, Amyan added.

The aid distribution process will be carried out in coordination with Islamic Relief (IR) and other international bodies currently present in Somalia, he said.

South Somalia is currently suffering from the worst hunger crisis it witnessed over 20 years. People are also suffering drought and about 3.7 million people, half the country’s population, are facing starvation, with an estimated 2.8 million of them in the south.

According to IR, more than 10 million people across the Horn of Africa have been affected by the drought in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.