The frequent looting of relief aid at distribution centers in Mogadishu by local or state security agents seriously undermines efforts to help hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have fled areas of Somalia in a state of famine, according to officials and aid workers.

The U.N. has estimated that more than 3.6 million people in Somalia are currently in need of emergency humanitarian assistance as the region is in the midst of the worst drought in 60 years.