Word of food draws Somalis

NAIROBI (AP) - The United States resumed its airlift to Somalia yesterday after a one-day rest, while Germany began flying food into one of the hardest-hit towns. The Americans sent five military C-130 cargo planes to Belet Huen, a village on Somalia's western border with Ethiopia after taking a day off on Wednesday. The break was to give overworked personnel some rest and avoid accidents from fatigue. The Americans had not had a free day since they began arriving on 17 August.

The UN special representative for Somalia, Mohamed Sahnoun, said yesterday the scale of the disaster was worse than feared and was only becoming apparent as relief operations penetrated the famished heartland. 'We have so far seen only the tip of the iceberg . . . it is a dramatic discovery that we are making daily,' he told Visnews and the BBC. He said starving Somalis had been hiding in their huts but were coming out of the bush as they heard food was available in some of the bigger towns.