Somali Americans rally in St. Paul for famine victims

Hundreds of Somali American students plan a four-hour walk from Minneapolis to St. Paul Saturday to call attention to the famine in Somalia.

It's part of an international movement started by Somali-Canadian students in Calgary and Alberta.

The event happens during Ramadan, when Muslims refrain from eating from dawn to dusk. Organizer Shukri Abdinur says participants will experience part of what Somalis are feeling as they travel toward refugee camps.

"Obviously, it's not the same, in any way, to the scale of what they're going through but I think that Ramadan, number one, we're all fasting," Abdinur said. "It was just really appropriate to create awareness and show that we all care about the people who are dying as they're walking long miles.

The walk begins at 2:30 p.m. and will arrive in St Paul around 6 p.m.

Also, from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, the group East Africans in Minnesota will have a rally at the State Capitol. They're urging the U.S. state department to allow relief organizations more access to parts of Somalia controlled by the terrorist-designated group al-Shabaab.

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