Nairobi/Geneva  - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Wednesday it would dramatically scale up relief operations in Somalia as an escalating insurgency, drought and rising food prices put hundreds of thousands in need of humanitarian aid.

"We are witnessing the worst tragedy of the past decade in Somalia," said Pascal Hundt, head of the ICRC's Somalia delegation. "People are completely exhausted from the non-stop struggle to survive."

Hundreds of thousands have fled the capital city of Mogadishu since Ethiopian and transitional government troops forced out the Union of Islamic Courts, which controlled Mogadishu for around six months in the second half of 2006.

The move sparked an insurgency, and the ICRC warned the situation has deteriorated since the start of this year.

Attacks on government, Ethiopian and African Union peacekeeping troops have become almost a daily occurrence in Mogadishu and other towns. Civilians are often caught up in the crossfire.

Over a dozen civilians, including a two-year-old boy, were killed in one battle last week. The ICRC said it had treated 1,300 wounded - a third of them women and children - since January.

Other agencies, among them the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), have been appealing for humanitarian aid as the combination of a drought in central Somalia and conflict have brought many face-to-face with hunger.

Food prices - driven up by global pressures and the conflict - have also soared while the value of the Somali shilling has plummeted.

A kilogram of rice in Mogadishu cost six times more in May this year than it did in 2007, according to ICRC figures.

"People can't afford to buy food - it's as simple as that," Hundt told journalists at a press conference in Nairobi. "I do not see any reason for the (inflationary) trend to stop."

The charity said it would triple its budget to deliver four months worth of dry-food rations to 435,000 people in the coming weeks in coordination with the World Food Programme and Care.

Blankets, shelter materials and other essential items will also be handed out to those who fled the fighting to live in makeshift camps or in the open air.

UN-backed peace talks aimed at ending the conflict are ongoing in Djibouti, but with the absence of the Islamic insurgents from the table many are pessimistic about the chances of finding a lasting deal.

Somalia has been in a state of anarchy since the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. (dpa)