Somalia: Insecurity in Mogadishu driving people out and restricting humanitarian relief

(New York: 23 July, 2007) For the first time since the beginning of June, more people have left Mogadishu than have returned to the city, with over 10,000 people fleeing the Somali capital last week. Since Government troops began securing the city at the beginning of last month, some 21,000 people have left Mogadishu but around 20,000 have returned. United Nations agencies estimate the number of Somali internally displaced persons (IDPs) at 400,000 for the year 2007, and many among them were displaced several times as a result of ongoing conflict.

Restrictions on daily activities for most people in Mogadishu have jeopardized the livelihoods of the most vulnerable people within the city. The closure of Bakara market, a wholesale market in Mogadishu, has made it difficult for many people to secure remittances, which are an important source of income. Increased insecurity and the closure of all entry roads to the market were to blame for the wind-down of the market, as was rising inflation. Just this past week, the price of sugar has doubled.

Meanwhile, security in Mogadishu deteriorated with the start of the National Reconciliation Conference (NRC) on 15 July, which was adjourned on the same day because of mortar attacks. The NRC resumed last Thursday, but seven mortar attacks were reported at day's end, killing six children.

"The continuing violence is again driving civilians from their homes and making life extremely difficult for those who remain," said John Holmes, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator. "The humanitarian community also needs a safer environment to carry out its life-saving work. I hope not only Government forces but also all concerned parties will recognize the importance and urgency of this."

Also in Mogadishu, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and others partners have indicated that 2,900 residents and IDPs have been evicted from their homes in public buildings. Most end up on the streets, saying there is nowhere to go and that IDP settlements are too full.

In early July, the World Food Programme (WFP) was able to transport its first consignment of food - some 3,150 metric tonnes - after receiving permission to cross into Somalia from Kenya. However, the progressive deterioration of the transport infrastructure inside Somalia is causing delays in the movement of goods. Damaged bridges are increasingly limiting the movement of commodities on heavy trucks, since cargo must be off-loaded before trucks cross and re-loaded on the other side.

Access to south and central Somalia by air has improved with the resumption of United Nations air services to Afmadou, in the south, and Wajid, northwest of Mogadishu. But piracy hampers access by sea. WFP and the International Maritime Organization have called on the Somali Transitional Federal Government to allow foreign warships into its waters to combat the threat, since piracy has curtailed the WFP's capacity to ship aid.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.