Ethiopia needs emergency aid to feed 5.2 million people this year, the government said, appealing for 642,983 metric tons of food from foreign donors.

The Horn of Africa nation has already received confirmed pledges for 396,212 tons of food and is still seeking 246,771 tons of aid valued at $188 million, the government and aid agencies said in a report e-mailed to reporters late yesterday in the capital, Addis Ababa.

More than a quarter of those in need are in Ethiopia’s southeastern Somali region, which borders Somalia. Much of the area is under the control of the Ethiopian military, which is battling rebels of the Ogaden National Liberation Front.

The number of people in need of assistance is higher than the 4.9 million estimated to need emergency aid in January 2009. That figure was revised to 6.2 million in August following poor rains.

Ethiopia received more than 550,000 tons of emergency food aid last year, of which about 313,000 tons was donated by the U.S., the report said.

Source: Bloomberg