The plight of millions of people left hungry by a harsh drought across the Horn of Africa is set to worsen, with the rains not expected soon and harvests months away, a top U.N. official warned Saturday.

Scanty or failed rainfall in the region over the past two years has already forced thousands of Somalis to flee their country and ruined the livelihoods of millions in parts of Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

At least 38 people were killed when Ethiopian armed men attacked a rival community in a remote border region of north Kenya, a local official said Wednesday, warning the toll could rise.

"Where the incident occurred is very remote and mostly not accessible," Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner Osman Warfa told Agence France Presse in an update on Tuesday's attack.