Displaced people leaving Somalia’s capital in face of violence – UN

A steady flow of displaced persons is leaving the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to escape insecurity and violence there, the United Nations reported today.

Some 650 families have reportedly set up temporary shelters at one stop on a road outside of the capital, while another 175 people have reportedly moved from Mogadishu to Baidoa, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

Baidoa was the headquarters of the transitional Government until late last year when, backed by Ethiopian troops, it dislodged Islamist forces from Mogadishu and much of the rest of the war- and drought-ravaged East African country.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since the toppling of Muhammad Siad Barre’s regime in 1991.

Earlier this month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative for Somalia François Lonsény Fall discussed with the International Contact Group, a set of countries and organizations including the UN, the need for reconciliation through an inclusive dialogue between the Somali parties, the proposed deployment of an African Union (AU) peace support mission, and international development aid.