Exodus from Somalia’s capital escalates in face of violence

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Exodus from Somalia’s capital escalates in face of violence, nearing 20,000: UN


The flight of civilians from Somalia’s strife-torn capital, Mogadishu, has escalated over the past week, bringing the total number of those displaced from the city to nearly 20,000, sparking mounting concerns for their health and sanitation, the United Nations reported today.

“Available social services, particularly water supply systems, are limited,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. “That is leading to an increase in diarrhoea cases.”

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are working to address the problem, OCHA added, noting that on the positive side the number of malaria cases are decreasing as flood-hit areas dry out.

Meanwhile, 25 trucks contracted by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) crossed into Somalia today from Kenya with nearly 800 tons of food aid.

Mogadishu has been suffering from increased violence since the Transitional Government ousted Islamist groups with Ethiopian help two months ago. The whole country has been riven by factional fighting among rival warlords and has had no functioning central government ever since the regime of Muhammad Siad Barre was toppled in 1991.