Somalia is quickly slipping into a yet more gruesome circle of hell. Protests erupted today over food prices, and aid organizations are issuing panicky - but accurate - statements about impending mass tragedy.

Most headlines are simply reporting that two people died in today's protests. But the reality is one of extreme social disruption, and the casualties are already starting to climb:

Protestors took to the streets in Somalia's dangerous capital Monday to demonstrate against rising food prices and the business community's refusal to accept 1,000-note Somali Shillings, Radio Garowe reported.

Rioters burned tires and threw stones at business fronts in Mogadishu, as Mayor Mohamed "Dheere" Omar appealed for restraint.

Protestors forcefully entered major Mogadishu markets, including Bakara and Suuk Ba'ad markets, where the rioters halted the flow of civilian and commercial traffic in and out of the markets for hours, witnesses said.

In Mogadishu's Hamarweyne district, angry rioters stopped a commercial truck and looted all of the contents the truck was transporting from the port.

Mogadishu police used microphones atop armored cars to order protestors to demonstrate peacefully or go home.

At least four people were killed and five others wounded during the violent protests, which affected many neighborhoods in Mogadishu. Some of the dead were killed by police gunfire, witnesses reported.

The crisis that sparks such protests, however, goes far up the supply chain - suggesting that this won't be the last time we see violence over food prices. With hyperinflation raging, customers are angry because shopkeepers won't take 1,000-shilling notes, but the businessmen say that wholesalers won't accept the notes either. Counterfeiters aren't helping the situation either. And in a country where arms are widespread, a conflict between a man who can't afford to buy bread at the new price and a man who can't afford to let him have it at the former price can quickly turn deadly.

Food prices aren't the only source of tension in Somalia. These protests followed quickly on the heels of large anti-US demonstrations that took place Sunday, a reminder that we are deeply complicit in Somalia's suffering. An American missile strike last Friday killed at least twelve people, and was "at least the third the US military has conducted inside Somalia since the start of 2007." These strikes supposedly target Al Qaeda leaders, but they mostly affect civilians, alienating populations in Somalia who already live on the edge of annihilation. It's no wonder the protests drew a crowd of thousands. And though some would label me a fool and a communist for suggesting it, I wonder whether Somalis aren't connecting their anger at food shortages, their anger at their weak puppet government (backed by Ethiopian occupiers and the US), and their anger at American violence against their people. We're not making any friends, to put it mildly.

Meanwhile, the food shortages are truly terrifying. We hear about African famines and epidemics so often that we become somewhat numbed to these crises, but this case in particular deserves our attention both because of the responsibility we bear toward Somalia and because it may in fact be the absolute worst ongoing crisis in the world.

A UN report informs us that as many as 3.5 million Somalis may require food assistance by the end of this year. Just to put that in perspective, that would be like the entire state of Oregon starving. The combination of drought, rising food prices, and political instability has pushed much of the country to the brink of death in both urban and rural areas. As the chief technical adviser of the UN's Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) said,

“The situation is rapidly deteriorating. In the last three or for months, the number of people in need of assistance has increased from 1.8 million to over 2.6 million. This is about a 40 percent increase. So this is a very rapid increase in the problem.”

The FSAU notes that Somalis are adopting a number of coping strategies such as reducing consumption, taking their children out of school, and reducing their purchases of medicine. But even these short-term measures can cause greater problems in the long run, particularly if they expose people with weakened immune systems to greater risk of disease. With time running out, it seems that we can expect more outbreaks of violence.

The US has the opportunity to play a critical role in defusing conflict and delivering aid. I believe that we should immediately suspend all attacks on this impoverished country, and support real talks between the government and rebels of all stripes.

Above all, we must end the War on Terror. Seen through the screen of this hateful ideology, Somalia appears as "a failed state whose lawless anarchy would permit terrorists to operate relatively freely." But targeting terrorists has only deepened anarchy and suffering in Somalia. It's time to set down our ideological burdens and stare the problem squarely in the face: these people are dying, we're partly to blame, and we can do a lot to help.