More than
40,000 Somalis return to Mogadishu despite renewed
fighting
(Geneva, February 28, 2009 Ceegaag Online)
More than 40,000 internally displaced people have
returned to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in the last six
weeks despite heavy fighting that has caused many civilian
casualties.
The majority of the returnees are from Hiraan, Mudug,
Galgaduud and Lower and Middle Shabelle in Somalia's
southern and central regions, which are experiencing a
combination of renewed conflict and severe drought, UNHCR
spokesman Ron Redmond told journalists in Geneva.
Many IDPs are returning as complete families but others
are heads of households who have left their relatives behind
in settlements for the internally displaced while they check
the conditions of their properties.
They are returning to Hodan, Wardhiigleey, Yaaqshiid and
Heliwaa neighbourhoods in north Mogadishu that were
devastated by two years of war and left virtually empty.
"The displaced have lost everything and are returning to
ruined homes and livelihoods," Redmond said.
The latest returns are taking place at time when
Mogadishu is experiencing some of the heaviest fighting in
recent months, resulting in many civilian causalities and
renewed displacement.
"We are in the process of assessing the scale and
magnitude of the latest displacement," Redmond said. "UNHCR
is not encouraging returns to Mogadishu at this juncture, as
the security situation is volatile and the conditions are
certainly not conducive," he added.
Access to basic services in Mogadishu is limited, with
very few international agencies present on the ground
because of insecurity. Nevertheless, the UN refugee agency
is preparing to help returnees or those who wish to return
in the near future, in the hope that the security situation
will improve.
The total number of Somalis displaced within their own
country is a staggering 1.3 million. Last year alone, some
100,000 Somalis sought refuge in the neighbouring countries
of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen. The number of Somali
refugees in asylum countries now stands at 438,000.
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