SOMALIA: U.N say 57,000 Somalis have been displaced by fighting between government forces and Islamist rebels in Mogadishu

Record ID: 295709

  • Title: SOMALIA: U.N say 57,000 Somalis have been displaced by fighting between government forces and Islamist rebels in Mogadishu
  • Date: 26th May 2009
  • Summary: MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (MAY 24, 2009) (REUTERS) ROAD BETWEEN MOGADISHU AND AFGOYE DISPLACED SOMALIS WALKING IN THE RAIN AT ELASHA CAMP PUDDLES OF WATER IN SHELTERS AT ELASHA VARIOUS OF SHELTERS DESTROYED BY RAIN DISPLACED WOMAN SITTING WITH HER BABY (SOUNDBITE) (Somali) AYAAN HASHI, INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSON, SAYING: "Look at the condition in which we are living. Look at where I slept last night with my children. You see we have no toilets, it has been raining and we don't have shelter and it is also very cold. I can't explain the difficulties we are facing; you can see it with your own eyes." CHILDREN WALKING THROUGH PUDDLES OF WATER IN CAMP
  • Embargoed: 10th June 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Somalia
  • Country: Somalia
  • Topics: War / Fighting
  • Reuters ID: LVAARKNYUSK1AYC4PCIIWHYRA1RM
  • Story Text: Deadly fighting in Somalia's capital Mogadishu in recent weeks has displaced thousands and has made life for civilians in the Horn of African country increasingly dire.
    An upsurge in violence this month has killed nearly 200 people in Mogadishu and forced some 57,000 residents from their homes. At least 53 people have died since last week, when the government attacked rebel strongholds in the city.
    Thousands of the displaced people are living in temporary shelters and an unrelenting rainy season is making things increasingly difficult for them.
    "Look at the condition in which we are living. Look at where I slept last night with my children. You see we have no toilets, it has been raining and we don't have shelter and it is also very cold. I can't explain the difficulties we are facing; you can see it with your own eyes," said Ayaan Hashi, who fled the fighting in Mogadishu.
    The current fighting has also displaced some of the 70,000 people who had returned to Mogadishu at the beginning of 2009.
    An estimated 3.2 million need urgent food aid and humanitarian agencies are finding it increasingly difficult to access the displaced populations due to growing insecurity.
    Mohamud Abdi Garweyneh, Somalia's Humanitarian Minister made an appeal for emergency international assistance.
    "We are requesting aid organizations, international donors, regional council of IGAD, EU, AU, Arab league, OIC and all donors to give emergency aid to the needy civilians who are living in the outskirts of Mogadishu after they fled the fighting," Garweyneh told journalists late on Sunday (May 24).
    Neighbouring states and Western governments fear Somalia, which has been mired in civil war for 18 years, could become a base for militants linked to al Qaeda and destabilise the region, unless the new government can defeat them.
    Years of conflict in Somalia have killed tens of thousands, displaced millions more, defied 15 attempts to establish central rule and created one of the world's worst aid crises.
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