The statistics are numbing: over the past three months more than 40,000 young children starved to death in southern Somalia; thousands more are being left to die on the side of the road; everyday at least 3,500 people are fleeing the country in search of food and an estimated 12 million people are desperate for humanitarian aid.

My seven siblings were beheaded… my mother opened the door to find a bloodbath

This is the scene of Africa’s worst humanitarian crisis: the worst drought to hit the Horn of Africa in six decades.

A Somali refugee living in Malta recounted how the plight of his people was exacerbated by a horrific political scenario.

“It pains me that in the 21st century people are still dying of hunger,” says Abshir Abdalla, 32. He explains that the deaths are uncalled for and that with “a proper government” the drought would not be so tragic.

The UN-backed government of President Sharif Ahmed controls no more than a few blocks of the capital, Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab, a powerful Islamist insurgent group, which controls the rest, has banned aid to the country and, as a result, international help is not reaching those in need.

“We have a situation where in parts of Mogadishu there is relief but, just a mere seven kilometers away, people are dying in the streets,” Mr Abdalla says.

Mr Abdalla speaks of the “big environmental mismanagement” taking place all over the country, in particular the rabid deforestation. “Trees, whole forests, are cut down, mercilessly. The wood is sold to Arabic countries and the money pocketed by warlords,” he says.

Everything spirals into a vicious circle: no trees means no rain; the rivers dry up; people cannot cultivate their land; the livestock dies; without animal transport, people cannot move to a better place; until, finally, famine takes its toll.

As a graduate in biology and agriculture from the University of Uganda, Mr Abdalla knows what he’s talking about. He is originally from the middle Juba region in Somalia, which is about a two-day walk from the border with Kenya. “So, at least, people in my region can walk towards help when they are on the verge of starvation but, further south, that is not possible.”

He is not optimistic for the future of his country. “Somalia is the only place I can call home. It is the only place in the world where I can live in dignity but things will not change in my lifetime.” Warlords in Somalia, he says, are playing a “power game” and the innocent people are the ones suffering.

The country is fast becoming an international terrorist base, he says, and the regions controlled by the Al-Shabaab are the worst because people are not just physically but even psychologically held hostage.

“These are people who are happy to suck the blood of suffering people. Wherever you look there’s violation of human rights,” he says. Several members of his family – including his younger brother and a cousin – have been murdered innocently. “It is like living in a butcher’s shop.”

Another Somali refugee, Naima Farah (name changed), 23, knows all too well about this. She is the youngest of 11 siblings but only she and her older brother are still alive. Three years ago, members of the Al-Shabaab knocked on their door in Mogadishu. They found three of her sisters and four brothers at home. When her mother returned home she found a blood bath – “they were all beheaded”.

Last year, the same group killed her father, who worked as a translator with an NGO. “He was on his way from work in the evening. They cut his legs and arms and he was thrown in a garbage bag.” Her two other sisters have been missing for more than a year: “When someone is missing for that long it means the worst,” says Ms Farah.

“In Mogadishu you can’t walk freely. The streets are full of gangsters. You always live with fear. Fear of someone forcing you to marry, of being raped or killed.” Her mother now lives with her elder brother and takes care of Ms Farah’s five-year old daughter and her other two grandchildren who were left motherless. She is in touch with them regularly via phone. They do not have internet access as electricity is an expensive commodity.

The fighting, she claims, is pointless: “There is no difference between the Somali people, everyone shares the same culture, the same language. Innocent people and children should not be dying. It should be the government’s role to ensure that that does not happen.”

How does she cope with all the pain? “I have to. It’s not my choice but life’s choice. I just wait. I have no idea what the future will hold. I only wish to be able to have my daughter with me,” she trails off.

It is a photo of his twin sons, aged six, that is the first thing Abshir Abdalla sees when he opens the door to his flat. They are living with his wife and their relatives in Kenya while he walked across the desert to Libya and then on to a boat in the hope of securing a better future for his family.

He yearns to be reunited with his family here – if there is a change in policy – or in another country. “I want my sons to grow up as free citizens of the world with no hatred in their heart.”

When the going gets tough, he consoles himself with Somali poetry: “We say that crying can’t heal your tears, it can’t assuage your fears, it is only inner strength that helps at times like these.”

Somalia – a history

Somalia was founded in 1960 when a former British protectorate and an Italian colony were merged. Since then its development has been slow. Relations with neighbours have been soured by its territorial claims on Somali-inhabited areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

In 1970, Said Barre assumed power after a coup d’etat. He proclaimed Somalia a socialist state and paved the way for close relations with the then USSR. In 1991, President Barre was overthrown by opposing clans. But they failed to agree on a replacement and plunged the country into lawlessness and clan warfare.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991. A moderate Islamist and former rebel, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed was elected President of Somalia’s fragile transitional government in January 2009.

The long-standing absence of authority in the country has led to Somali pirates becoming a major threat to international shipping in the area and has prompted Nato to take the lead in an anti-piracy operation.

After the collapse of the Barre regime, the north-west part of Somalia unilaterally declared itself the independent Republic of Somaliland. The territory, whose independence is not recognised by international bodies, has enjoyed relative stability.