Almost a million Somalis face shortage of food, shelter and other basics, many more than previously thought, after a poor harvest and bouts of fighting in the lawless African nation, the United Nations warned Thursday.

A recent assessment of the UN's humanitarian situation in Somalia published here finds that nearly a million Somalis in most regions of the country will need some form of aid through the end of the year.

"Aid partners agreed that almost one million people -- including 370,000 - 400,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) -- found to be in urgent need of assistance will be the priority target group for the humanitarian response in 2006," said the report.

The war-torn Horn of Africa country has been without a central government for 14 years following the collapse in 1991 of the government of Siad Barre, and the report says that in the center of the country, unresolved conflicts are continuing to delay recovery from humanitarian crises.

The food shortage, and the difficulty of getting relief to people driven from their homes by inter-clan fighting, threatens the recovery of the nation of 10 million people, which has been carved up into fiefdoms run by rival warlords since 1991.

"UN activities in most proceeded as normal in most areas although access to needy populations in parts of Sool and Sanaag was hindered due to increased tension owing to the elections," said the report, prepared by UN agencies in the nation.

The report says 345,000 people are in a state of livelihood crisis while 197,000 are facing a humanitarian emergency.

Last month, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said it has raised less than half of the 162 million US dollars needed to tackle the problem, appealing for another 92 million dollars from international donors.

Recent rains in north and central Somalia have alleviated three years of drought, but recovery has been difficult for farmers who lost property and livestock in the drought years, says the report.

Somalia is also suffering the effects of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Indian Ocean coastlines on December 26, killing as many as 300 people in the country and affecting some 18, 000 households.

International assistance has been hampered by the lack of security in the country and its waters.

The UN World Food Program's aid shipments to the country was disrupted after one of its ship carrying 850 tons of rice to Somalia's northern port of Bossaso was hijacked by an armed gang in June.

Source: Xinhua