The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated nearly USD 600,000 to provide Ethiopians in the country’s strife-torn Somali region with food aid. The funds will be used by the World Food Program (WFP) to help Ethiopian authorities deliver WFP food to the Somali region, where conflict between Government forces and the Ogaden National Liberation Front has intensified this year. To date, WFP has provided almost 17,000 metric tons of food for the five zones under military operations, though it notes that a shortage of military escorts continues to hamper timely deliveries. (UN News)