Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday deplored the humanitarian crisis in Somalia where at least one million people have fled violence, and urged global intervention to help end the fighting."The sad news comes to us on the subject of the fragility of the humanitarian situation in Somalia, especially in Mogadishu, still the most affected by insecurity and poverty," the pope said at his weekly general audience at the Vatican.
"I am anxiously following developments and I call on those who have political responsibilities on the local and international levels to seek peaceful solutions that can bring relief to these people," he added.
"I encourage the efforts of those who, despite the insecurity and difficulties, stay in this region to bring aid and relief to the inhabitants," the pontiff said.
Some 600,000 people have fled the war-wracked Somali capital since February, bringing the total number of people displaced inside the country to a "staggering one million," the UN refugee agency said Tuesday.
Somalia's transitional government, riven by in-fighting, has been unable to exert control across the nation of about 10 million people and some provinces have declared indepedence.
The bloody clan bickering and power struggles that intensified after the 1991 overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre have undermined numerous bids to stabilise Somalia.
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