MaximsNewsNetwork: SOMALIA REFUGEES: UNHCR: ANTONIO GUTERRES

MaximsNewsNetwork: 07 August 2009 - UNHCR: Continued violence is forcing ever greater numbers of people to flee from the capital Mogadishu in Somalia. Few aid groups are still able to operate in the area and so the conditions of civilians caught up in the fighting is said to be dire.

In Somalia, continued violence is forcing ever greater numbers of people to flee from the capital Mogadishu. Few aid groups are still able to operate in the area and the conditions of civilians caught up in the fighting is said to be dire.

Latest figures show that more than 237,000 people have fled the city since May, when fighting broke out between government forces and militia groups.

They join the more than 400,000 Somalis who fled from previous battles and have crowded into camps in whats called the Afgooye corridor, a narrow strip of land southwest of the capital.




As fewer aid shipments are able to get through to the port of Mogadishu, food and other assistance are not getting to those who need it most and conditions in the camps are deteriorating even further.

Those Somalis who can afford to leave the country, do so. The escalation in violence has seen a corresponding increase in the numbers of Somalis seeking refuge in neighboring states. Kenya alone reports that 40,000 people have crossed over this year.

The UN refugee agency is extremely concerned over the resulting overcrowding at Dadaab refugee camp where almost 300,000 people are sheltering in a space built for 90,000. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres will visit Dadaab refugee camp today to see the situation first hand.

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• Somalia
• UNHCR
• UN Refugee agency
• displaced persons
• Mogadishu
• Antonio Guterres
• Dadaab camp