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COVID-induced khat shortage adds to health problems in Somalia

In the sweltering seaside port of Mogadishu, Sharif Ahmed tried to attack his relatives and neighbours, resulting in an emergency trip to a psychiatric hospital in handcuffs.

It is not the endless civil war making the 22-year-old restless, but withdrawal from the narcotic leaf khat that he has been chewing on since he was 15.

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