Turkey calls for meeting on Africa famine

"It doesn't matter whether the meeting is held in Istanbul or Jeddah, we want OIC to step in as soon as possible. We want to meet the needs of our African brothers in Ramadan month," he told reporters in Ankara after Friday prayers

Davutoğlu said he had made the request on Thursday to OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu, a fellow Turk.

He added that his ministry was organising a visit to Ethiopia and South Africa later this month.

"We may add other countries including Kenya in light of recent developments. We are planning the visit to take place after August 15, maybe around August 20," Davutoğlu said.

Some 3.7 million Somalis are at risk of starvation, the majority of them in the south of the Horn of Africa country that has been in a state of armed anarchy for two decades, complicating any humanitarian relief effort.

Hundreds of thousands have made the dangerous trek to the capital Mogadishu and its outlying areas in search of food aid.

On Friday, a Somali soldier was killed and a dozen residents wounded when three trucks loaded with food intended for famine victims were looted in Mogadishu, witnesses said.