The militant Islamist group al-Shabab has announced its ban on foreign aid groups remains in place in Somali areas under its control. Al-Shabab reversed the longstanding ban earlier this month as the crisis in Somalia escalated into what the United Nations has now declared to be a famine threatening millions of people. The ban had grounded efforts to reach residents of drought-stricken areas across southern Somalia. Al-Shabab has also dismissed U.N. claims of a famine in Somalia as “100 percent false.” Touring southern Somalia on Thursday, World Food Programme executive director Josette Sheeran appealed for more aid.

Josette Sheeran: “They need fortified supplemental foods in massive quantities throughout the areas where they have been unable to be reached. So, mostly in southern Somalia we’re seeing a weakened population, and we have to focus on this. We have called on all global supply lines to supply these fortified foods. We need the contributions and the supply chain to not end.”