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Over 67,000 Somalis displaced by escalating fighting, reports UN agency

Over 67,000 Somalis displaced by escalating fighting, reports UN agency

In less than three weeks, some 20,000 residents of Mogadishu have fled to settlements like this one in Afgooye
The number of Somalis fleeing the latest escalation of fighting in and around Mogadishu has surpassed 67,000, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today, adding that worsening security has also hampered aid delivery to the capital.

The number of Somalis fleeing the latest escalation of fighting in and around Mogadishu has surpassed 67,000, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today, adding that worsening security has also hampered aid delivery to the capital.

Intense fighting between the Government and the opposition Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups erupted in several north-west areas of Mogadishu on 8 May.

The Security Council today condemned the recent resurgence in fighting in the Horn of Africa nation, and called for the end of all hostilities.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member body also authorized an extension of the mandate of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, known as AMISOM, until 31 January 2010.

In addition, the Council called on all Somali parties to support the recent Djibouti Agreement on national reconciliation, and welcomed President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed’s call for all opposition groups to support that process.

According to UNHCR, most of the uprooted are heading to makeshift camps along the Afgooye corridor, south-west of Mogadishu. These sites are already hosting an estimated 400,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).

“Those displaced who are unable to make the 30-kilometre journey have sought refuge in south-western parts of Mogadishu that have not yet been overrun by fighting,” UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva.

The agency added that the deteriorating security situation has sharply reduced deliveries of desperately needed humanitarian aid to the displaced in and around the capital.

“Local agencies that have been providing a lifeline to the IDPs are facing growing security problems as they try to help the needy,” Mr. Redmond said.

Starting today, UNHCR is distributing aid – including cooking sets, plastic sheeting and blankets – for some 50,000 people in the Afgooye corridor through its local partners in Somalia.

Somalia is one of the world’s largest refugee-producing countries, and the number of Somalis fleeing to neighbouring countries continues to rise, the agency added.

In addition to providing protection and assistance to some half a million Somali refugees in nearby countries, including Kenya, Yemen, Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti, Eritrea and Tanzania, UNHCR is also coordinating aid for the 1.3 million displaced in Somalia.