More than a million people have been displaced by armed conflict, floods and drought since the beginning of the year in Somaliawith the risk of famine worsening, as announced today by United Nations and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and NRC they speak of a “record level of displacement” recorded from January 1 to May 10 in this volatile country in the Horn of Africa.
The historic drought, caused by five periods of insufficient rainfall since 2020, has been compounded in recent weeks by flash floods that have killed at least 22 people.
The country is also experiencing an upsurge in violence, due to the government’s military offensive against radical Islamists since September. Sebab and armed conflicts in the separatist region Somalilandwhich claimed the lives of at least 210 civilians in February.
Since January 1, according to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency, the clashes have forced over 433,000 people to leave their homes, “while above 408,000 displaced due to the floods that swept away their villages and 312,000 others were displaced due to the devastating drought,” UNHCR and 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 Mohammed Abdihis representative NRC in Somalia: “With one million people already displaced in less than five months, we can only fear the worst in the coming months as all the ingredients for a disaster are in place in Somalia.”
Today at his headquarters UN at New York has planned a summit of donor countries for the Horn of Africa. According to the UN’s World Food Program (WFP), over 23 million people are affected by “severe famine” in the three main countries of the region (Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia).
For Somalia alone, “humanitarian organizations have so far received only 22% of the resources they need to provide this year’s needed assistance,” according to the UNHCR and 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”declares.
The last-minute mobilization last year “allowed Somalia to avert famine,” the WFP said in a statement, warning: “Today, the WFP is facing a lack of funds and will be forced to reduce its aid.”
Source: News Beast
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