The Somali group, al-Shabab, says it has lifted a ban on aid agencies operating in the parts of the country it controls. <br /><br />Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, an al-Shabab spokesperson said, "We have now decided to welcome all Muslim and non-Muslim aid agencies to assist the drought-stricken Somalis in our areas..."<br /><br />In some areas, one out of every three children is malnourished, in one of the region's worst droughts in 60 years. <br /><br />The UN says close to three million people in Somalia need emergency aid.<br /><br />Al-Shabab, which is said to be connected to al-Qaida networks in Africa and the Gulf, controls the majority of Somalia, including almost half of the capital, Mogadishu.<br /><br />In the past, they have said food aid creates dependency, but they have also used aid for themselves and charged foreign organisations high fees to operate.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Mariana Sanchez reports.
