Armed conflict, floods and drought have displaced a million people since the start of the year in Somalia
Over one million people have been displaced by the armed conflicts, of floods and droughts since the beginning of the year in somalia, with the risk of famine worsening, the United Nations and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) announced today.
The High Commission of United Nations for refugees (UNHCR) and the NRC speak of a “record level of displacement” recorded from January 1 to May 10 in this volatile country in the Horn of Africa.
In historic droughtcaused by five periods with insufficient rainfall from 2020came to be added in recent weeks severe floods that caused the death of at least 22 people.
After all, the country is experiencing escalation of violencedue to the government’s military offensive since September against the radical Islamist Shebaab and armed clashes in the breakaway region of Somaliland, which killed at least 210 civilians in February.
From January 1, the conflicts have forced over 433,000 people to flee their homes, “while over 408,000 were displaced by floods that swept their villages and 312,000 others were displaced by the devastating drought,” UNHCR and the NRC said in a statement.
In this country of approx 17 million inhabitants, over 3.8 million people have been displaced, “exacerbating an already devastating humanitarian situation where some 6.7 million people are struggling to meet their food needs,” according to the UN and NRC. According to these organizations, over half a million children suffer from severe malnutrition.
“These are alarming figures,” warns Mohamed Abdi, the NRC’s representative in Somalia: “With already a million people displaced in less than five months, we can only fear for the worst in the coming months as all the ingredients for a disaster exist in Somalia.”
Today at the UN headquarters in New York he has planned a meeting of donor countries for the Horn of Africa. According to the World Food Program (WFP) of the UN, over 23 million people are affected by “severe famine” in the three main countries of the region (Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia).
Only for Somalia, “humanitarian organizations have so far only received 22% of the funds needed to provide this year with the necessary assistance,” according to UNHCR and the NRC.
UNHCR’s representative in Somalia, Magate Gise, is calling on international donors to “increase their funding”. “If not, we will never see the end of this unfolding humanitarian tragedy,” he declares.
The last minute mobilization last year “allowed famine to be avoided in Somalia”, WFP said in a statement, warning: “Today, WFP is facing a shortage of funds and will be forced to reduce its assistance.”
