Frontline News
© UNHCR/ A. Albadri
Displaced Somali families from an IDP camp in Akaro area of Hodan district of Mogadishu load their goods on a mini bus to leave the city.
Thousands flee Mogadishu for safety
As the much anticipated build-up of government forces and Al-Shabaab militants in the Somali capital of Mogadishu quickly turned to deadly fighting, thousands of civilians have fled for safety.
"We are very concerned about the escalating violence in south and central Somalia, including the capital, which is causing large-scale displacement and human suffering," said a UNHCR spokesperson.
Many have reportedly gone to other relatively safe areas of the capital or to the Afgooye corridor, where there are already an estimated 366,000 people displaced by previous conflicts. The corridor, which stretches some 30 kilometres west of Mogadishu, has one of the largest concentrations of displaced people in the world.
Many others have taken a much longer journey for safety to neighbouring Ethiopia with some 200 Somalis arriving every day in need of assistance. To help ease congestion in the four camps already hosting some 60,000 Somali refugees in Ethiopia, UNHCR has begun relocating new arrivals to a new camp in south eastern Ethiopia.
To assist the displaced, UNHCR is carrying out a distribution of emergency shelter items, kitchen sets, jerry cans, and sanitation and hygiene items.
Background info
In the past two weeks alone, some 13,600 people have been forced from their homes as a result of clashes between government troops and armed opposition groups. At least 50 people were reportedly killed and more than 100 injured since the conflict intensified.
Your Page
1 good idea
10 friends' support
5 lives saved
Set up your own personal fundraising page now. Raise A Tent and help us save refugees' lives.
The region
Make a difference
Since the beginning of the year more than 100,000 Somali civilians have been forced to flee their homes in southern and central Somalia. Some are searching for safety not far from Mogadishu while many others have fled to neighbouring countries. Just $10 could change somebody's life.
