A Somali government soldier has shot and killed at least five people at a food aid distribution site in the capital, Mogadishu.

At least three others were wounded in the incident in Mogadishu's Waberi district Thursday.

Witnesses say the soldier, one of a group that was guarding the food, opened fire after people waiting in line got out of control and began pushing and shoving.

Somali authorities immediately took the unidentified soldier into custody.

Relief groups are distributing food to help the hundreds of thousands of Somalis facing starvation in the wake of an extended drought across the Horn of Africa.

Six areas of southern Somalia have been declared famine zones. Many Somalis seeking food and water have fled to the capital or to refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia.