United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator alarmed by civilian casualties in Somalia

(New York, 7 August 2008): The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, today expressed his growing alarm at the continuing abuses and civilian casualties resulting from the conflict in Somalia, and the challenges faced by humanitarian workers, increasingly targeted by violence, in addressing the rapidly growing needs of millions of vulnerable people.

'All parties to this conflict have an obligation under international law to protect civilians and to refrain from indiscriminate attacks. Yet it seems at every turn, the death toll of ordinary Somalis is growing. Far too many of them are women, children or aid workers who have no part in this conflict,' stated the Under-Secretary-General.

The death of tens of civilians in bomb and mortar attacks in Mogadishu in the past week, the current massive displacement of civilians due to fighting in Belet Weyne and the latest killing of an aid worker underline the toll conflict is taking on civilian populations and the relief operation.

On Sunday, 20 women who were participating in a Food-For-Work supported street cleaning programme were killed when a roadside bomb was detonated. Forty other civilian bystanders were injured. The following day, at least 10 civilians were killed when a mortar shell landed on a residence in Mogadishu.

Outside Mogadishu, recent fighting between Ethiopian forces and insurgents in the town of Belet Weyne, 300 km north of the capital, has displaced at least 70,000 civilians. The displaced are scattered in villages and rural areas along the Shabelle River where they are reported to be living in dire conditions and in urgent need of food, water, medical care and shelter.

This military confrontation also resulted in significant civilian casualties and destruction of property, including the office of an international NGO which was hit by artillery shells. International humanitarian and human rights norms appeared to be disregarded by all sides to the conflict during the fighting, with at least 20 civilians killed and more than a dozen injured. Reports indicate that civilians were also subject to arbitrary arrest, detention and even execution.

All this is occurring in the context of a severely deteriorating humanitarian situation in which aid workers, themselves subject to attacks in increasing numbers, are more and more challenged to reach people with the assistance they require. Just yesterday, the manager of an orphanage in the Afgooye corridor, where more than 300,000 displaced people have fled, was shot and murdered by unknown gunmen. Twenty-one aid-related workers have been killed in Somalia since January.

'The humanitarian situation has deteriorated steadily in the 18 months that I have been Emergency Relief Coordinator,' added Mr. Holmes, 'and has now reached unprecedented desperate levels, even in the context of Somalia over the last 18 years.'

Mr. Holmes urged all parties to allow urgently unhindered humanitarian access wherever assistance is required by populations in need and to respect the neutrality and safety of humanitarian workers. Nearly 2.6 million people in Somalia need humanitarian assistance, a 40 percent increase in the number of vulnerable people since January 2008. Some 3.5 million Somalis, nearly 50 percent of the total population, could require assistance by the end of the year.

For more information contact: Kate Ashton, Public Information Officer,OCHA-Somalia, +254-735-210- 102 or ashton@un.org; Dawn Elizabeth Blalock, Spokesperson, OCHA-NY, +1-917-367-5126 or blalock@un.org; For more information on Somalia go to www.ochaonline.un.org/somalia