UN pledges action on Somalia

Nairobi (Reuter) - A United Nations envoy yesterday pledged swift relief for Somalia's starving millions but urged feuding gunmen to stop fighting and help feed their dying nation.

'Guns are the biggest problem in that country, and some people think it is their only method of getting food,' the UN special envoy for Somalia, Mohammed Sahnoun, said. Speaking in Nairobi after his latest fact-finding mission to Mogadishu, Mr Sahnoun said he wanted the UN to send a larger force of guards to Somalia than the 500 envisaged by the Security Council. He said a proposal for sending around 6,000 peace-keeping troops was being examined.