UN concerned over thousands of displaced Somalis
New York, 20 Feb – (ANA) - The United Nations refugee agency has expressed fears for the safety of thousands of people who have fled fresh violence near the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and urged all armed groups to ensure the safety of civilians.
In the last two weeks, over 7,200 Somalis have been forced to flee the Afgooye
corridor, a 40-kilometre stretch of road just north-west of Mogadishu that is
home to almost 410,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in sprawling
settlements and makeshift camps, according to UNHCR figures.
More than 5,200 of the 7,200 people who have fled did so in the past three days
following new clashes that erupted, UNHCR said.
A majority of the newly displaced are people who have been displaced previously
and were living in the Afgooye corridor to escape insecurity in Mogadishu and
elsewhere in Somalia. Most of them are now heading towards Mogadishu.
Some 1.3 million people are internally displaced within Somalia, while more than
968,000 Somalis live as refugees in neighbouring countries, primarily in Kenya
(520,000), Yemen (203,000) and Ethiopia (186,000). (ANA)
FA/ANA/20 February 2012----------