Kyrgyzstan faces growing food insecurity

The United Nations says more than one-quarter of the households in Kyrgyzstan do not have enough food, and that the problem is expected to get worse in the coming months.

That figure represents about 1.5 million people.

The World Food Program said Tuesday it is preparing to bolster its operations in the country, where almost 350,000 others may soon be in need of food.

The U.N. agency said the threat stems from rising foods prices, a poor harvest, the onset of winter and the inter-ethnic violence that ravaged southern Kyrgyzstan in June.

The World Food Program said it conducted an assessment which found that food insecurity was especially high in the cities of Osh and Jalalabad, where the ethnic clashes broke out. The agency warned the situation remains volatile.

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