SOMALIA: Refugee camps struggle as thousands flee fighting in Somalia's capital Mogadishu

Record ID: 456046

  • Title: SOMALIA: Refugee camps struggle as thousands flee fighting in Somalia's capital Mogadishu
  • Date: 31st March 2007
  • Summary: (AD1) MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (MARCH 26, 2007) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CARS AND VANS ON THE ROAD BOY PUSHING CART MAN LEADING DONKEY PULLING CART PILED HIGH WITH BELONGINGS
  • Embargoed: 15th April 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Somalia
  • Country: Somalia
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA39X90JIG0S1VUQLZMSRJNR9WP
  • Story Text: Thousands of people have fled to the town of Afmadow in southern Somalia in recent weeks, to escape the fighting in Mogadishu and other parts of the turbulent country.
    People have been arriving in Afmadow since December 2006, when Ethiopian troops came in to help the Somali government run out Islamists that had held control for about six months.
    Many of the displaced peoples had hoped to travel into neighbouring Kenya but Kenyan authorities closed the border.
    "We fled the fighting in Mogadishu. We came here to find refuge. As you can see, we do not have anything, no shelter and nothing to sleep on. I did not receive anything, now I am hoping for assistance," said Kaltuma Adan, one of the displaced people.
    Adan and hundreds of others have been relying on handouts in the camp, ever since they arrived. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supplies food, blankets, clothes and other essential items.
    US airstrikes, which struck Somalia at the beginning of the year (2007) caused many to escape the fighting and seek shelter in the camp. The US aimed to smoke out Al-Qaeda suspects, whom they believed to be hiding in the south. Pasture and livestock was destroyed in the process, forcing people to flee in order to survive.
    "I am hungry. I am blind. I fled the bombings, our people and livestock were burned alive. We were already hungry before that happened and now it is worse," said Bare Omar Afi, another displaced person at the camp.
    The United Nations said on Thursday (March 29) that 57,000 people had fled Mogadishu since February, including 12,000 in the last week.
    "I fled the fighting. We were bombed day and night. I have never heard such a sound in my life before. They were flying low, nobody was spared, people were killed and much of our livestock died or run away," added Aden Santur Abdi, a displaced Somali.
    Meanwhile fighting in Mogadishu has escalated, helicopters and tanks pounded rebel positions on Thursday as allied Ethiopian and Somali troops launched a major push to end a bloody insurgency, with at least 11 civilians reported killed.
    It seems that what was meant to be a temporary accommodation, may soon turn into homes for the thousands of Somalis who have come to Afmadow in fear.
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