Roma (Sunatimes) Pope Benedict XVI has urged the international community to move quickly to aid hundreds of thousands of Somalis fleeing drought and famine in Somalia and elsewhere in the Horn of Africa.

The Pope called the drought situation in Somalia as a “humanitarian catastrophe” that has devastated people in Somalia mainly children.

Benedict issued his appeal after giving his weekly blessing to pilgrims at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, in the Alban Hills south of Rome.

Pope Benedict XVI said he was following the crisis in Somalia “with deep worry” and that he hopes the international community will mobilize quickly.

Aid agencies say the East African drought is one of the worst in years in terms of the number of people affected.

Thousands of Somali refugees are flooding camps in the Ethiopia and Kenya in search of food after several seasons without rain decimated livestock and killed crops in their homeland.

By Dahir Alasow