MaximsNewsNetwork: SOMALIA CONFLICT & REFUGEES (UNHCR)

MaximsNewsNetwork: 16 January 2010 - UNHCR: Somalia - The impact of the conflict in Somalia is having a devastating affect on the civilian population and the humanitarian aid effort. The most recent displacement in central Somalia region reportedly has uprooted up to 7,000people or more.

Humanitarian access to the displaced is limited because of the deteriorating security situation throughout Somalia. Those who fled their homes in and around Mogoadishu left without taking anything with them. As a result, they arrive traumatized and destitute.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Hawa Abdi Mohammed, displaced, Somalia:
I fled because of the fighting. There was a lot of shelling. Some of your children died because of the shelling. I had eight children and three were killed because of that fighting.

UNHCR recently delivered household items to 6,000 of the displaced. Each household received a bag containing cooking pots, water jugs, and plastic sheeting to help repel the heat and rain.

Its not much, but for those who fled with nothing it helps. The assistance targeted those who fled to Afgoye and Merka, located in central Somalia. The dispalced live in huts built from bits of fabric and sticks. There is no running water, no sanitation, no food and little else.

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Fadma Abdi, displaced, Somalia:
We have no medications, no food, no water. We have nothing. We need help from people all over the world, both Muslims and Christians to come and help us displaced people.

Only a significant reduction in the violence will enable UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies to respond to the real needs of the more than 1.5 million people displaced inside Somalia.

The dire aid situation means that more Somalis are seeking safety outside their country. In 2009 more than a half million Somalis sought refuge in neighboring countries. ................................................................................­................................ ( UNITED NATIONS REFUGEE AGENCY: UNHCR ) ................................................................................­................................. MaximsNewsNetwork:
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