Desert Locusts Ravage Breakaway Somalia Region

"The locust outbreak in Somaliland will not stop in days, weeks or months." — U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization

Vast swarms of ravenous desert locusts have ravaged thousands of acres of crops in the self-declared republic of Somaliland, on the Horn of Africa.

The head of the agricultural ministry in the breakaway Somalia region says the infestation is not likely to end within the next several weeks.

Abdi-Kadir Jibril Tukale says the locusts have already buried fresh eggs inside 270 square miles near the coast.

Besides crops, the mature locusts have eaten all of the foliage on trees as well as the grassland in the Salal and Awdal regions as they marched toward the Gulf of Aden.

Efforts to combat the swarms have been hampered by Somaliland’s lack of recognition as an independent state by any country or international organization.

Officials for the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization have asked to remain anonymous when making comments about their monitoring efforts in Somaliland.

Photo: U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs