Irish mission to Somalia

NAIROBI (AFP) - The Irish Foreign Minister, David Andrews, arrived on Monday in Mogadishu, capital of famine-stricken Somalia, for a visit of several days, a United Nations official said by telephone.

Mr Andrews is expected to stay for two days, before leaving for the towns of Baidoha and Bardera in the south-west, where many people face starvation. His visit follows that last week of the French Minister of Health and Humanitarian Affairs, Bernard Kouchner.

Mogadishu, scene of fighting between rival warlords, was 'reasonably calm', according to a relief worker.