More than 40,000 Somalis reported to have fled strife-torn capital last month – UN

More than 40,000 people reportedly fled Somalia’s strife-torn capital, Mogadishu, last month and growing insecurity has restricted the mobility and access of humanitarian agencies to respond adequately to the situation in the city, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said in its latest update.

A convoy carrying 2 UN staff to Mogadishu on Tuesday was attacked when gunmen set off a roadside bomb and then opened fire, wounding three police escorts but leaving the staffers unscathed.

Violence in the capital has increased since the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), backed by Ethiopian forces, dislodged the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) from Mogadishu and much of the rest of the country at the end of last year.

Moreover, February’s hijacking of a WFP-chartered ship on its way back to Mombassa, Kenya, after delivering 1,800 metric tons of food aid has constrained the agency’s ability to obtain shipping contracts, leading to delays in deliveries, with more than 2,400 metric tons of food aid awaiting shipment, the agency said. The MV Rozen has still not been released and its 12 crewmembers continue to be held captive.

The Somali government has asked the United States for help to secure the ship’s release and has also appealed to Washington to help fight all pirates targeting commercial vessels off the country's un-patrolled territorial waters, WFP added.

The Kenya/Somalia border remains closed, although a small number of spontaneous arrivals continue to arrive and there are also reports of recent influxes of people arriving in Ethiopia’s Somali region.

Despite the enormous challenges, Somalia may now have the best chance in years to find a long-term solution to the conflicts and clan rivalries that have left it without a functioning central government since 1991, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted in his latest report on the country to the Security Council early this month.

The TFG must reach out to key political and social forces and engage in an inclusive dialogue, he said. “Those who renounce violence and extremism and pledge to constructively engage in achieving a sustainable political settlement in Somalia should be included in the process,” he added. “An inclusive dialogue and a genuine political process are the only ways to achieve a sustainable peace that denies dissatisfied groups a rallying point for conflict.”