Somalia Fighting displaces over 200,000
7 July, 2009 | Ethio Quest News
-----------------------------------------------------
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron
Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press
briefing, on 7 July 2009, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The escalating conflict in Mogadishu is having a devastating impact on
the city's population causing enormous suffering and massive
displacement. By yesterday, the eight-week-long offensive led by the Al-
Shabab and Hisb-ul-Islam militia against government forces had driven a
staggering 204,000 residents from their homes, making it the biggest
exodus from the troubled Somali capital since the Ethiopian intervention
in 2007.
According to our local partners, fighting in the past week alone has
killed some 105 people and injured 382.
Neighbourhoods affected by the fighting include Kaaran, Shibis,
Shangaani and Boondheere in North Mogadishu. These areas have
hitherto been islands of peace, escaping much of the conflict and
destruction. Many residents are fleeing their homes for the first time
since the start of the Somali civil war in 1991.
While many of the displaced were fleeing to the Afgooye corridor, some
30 km west of Mogadishu, which already hosts over 400,000 victims of
previous conflicts, the majority are now heading further afield to the
Lower and Middle Shabelle, Galgaduud, Bay and Lower Juba regions.
Estimates place the number of internally displaced in Somalia at more
than 1.2 million.
Despite the fact that the Kenyan border is officially closed and Kenyan
authorities are not allowing asylum-seekers to cross into Kenya, the
number of people arriving in the UNHCR-run Dadaab refugee complex
situated in near the Somali border in northern Kenya continues to rise.
Since May, more than 11,000 Somali refugees have been registered at
the refugee camp, bringing to 36,000 the number of Somali refugees
who have arrived in the camp since the beginning of the year.
According to UNHCR, the actual number of new arrivals is much higher
since many of them head directly to urban centres like Nairobi,
Mombasa and Garissa. Dadaab refugee complex now hosts some 284,
306 refugees.
Also:
7 July, 2009 | Ethio Quest News
-----------------------------------------------------
- The fight which was ignited
eight-week ago by al-
Shabab and Hisb-ul-Isla
groups to oust the fragile
Somali government has
caused massive exodus
from the capital, the U.N.
refugee agency said on
Tuesday.
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron
Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press
briefing, on 7 July 2009, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The escalating conflict in Mogadishu is having a devastating impact on
the city's population causing enormous suffering and massive
displacement. By yesterday, the eight-week-long offensive led by the Al-
Shabab and Hisb-ul-Islam militia against government forces had driven a
staggering 204,000 residents from their homes, making it the biggest
exodus from the troubled Somali capital since the Ethiopian intervention
in 2007.
According to our local partners, fighting in the past week alone has
killed some 105 people and injured 382.
Neighbourhoods affected by the fighting include Kaaran, Shibis,
Shangaani and Boondheere in North Mogadishu. These areas have
hitherto been islands of peace, escaping much of the conflict and
destruction. Many residents are fleeing their homes for the first time
since the start of the Somali civil war in 1991.
While many of the displaced were fleeing to the Afgooye corridor, some
30 km west of Mogadishu, which already hosts over 400,000 victims of
previous conflicts, the majority are now heading further afield to the
Lower and Middle Shabelle, Galgaduud, Bay and Lower Juba regions.
Estimates place the number of internally displaced in Somalia at more
than 1.2 million.
Despite the fact that the Kenyan border is officially closed and Kenyan
authorities are not allowing asylum-seekers to cross into Kenya, the
number of people arriving in the UNHCR-run Dadaab refugee complex
situated in near the Somali border in northern Kenya continues to rise.
Since May, more than 11,000 Somali refugees have been registered at
the refugee camp, bringing to 36,000 the number of Somali refugees
who have arrived in the camp since the beginning of the year.
According to UNHCR, the actual number of new arrivals is much higher
since many of them head directly to urban centres like Nairobi,
Mombasa and Garissa. Dadaab refugee complex now hosts some 284,
306 refugees.
Also:
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