United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Friday, April 20, 2007
This is a
summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at
today's Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva.
Further information can be found on the UNHCR websites,
www.unhcr.org and
www.unhcr.fr, which
should also be checked for regular media updates on
non-briefing days.
UNHCR yesterday
(Thursday) began distribution of relief supplies to
thousands of displaced people in Afgooye, a Somali town
some 30 kms west of Mogadishu. T
This comes amid
reports of an outbreak of fresh fighting in Mogadishu
and an explosion yesterday afternoon on the main road
linking Afgooye and the capital, effectively cutting
links to the small town. There is no traffic along the
road this morning, forcing use of insecure alternative
routes through the bush. There are concerns that with
this vital road now cut off, aid agencies will have an
even harder time trying to bring supplies from
warehouses in Mogadishu for distribution to thousands of
displaced people in Afgooye and surrounding areas.
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 Afgooye now has
an estimated 40,000 displaced Somalis who have fled
Mogadishu since the beginning of February -- nearly a
fifth of the 213,000 Somalis who are believed to have
fled the capital. Nearly half of those who have fled
have sought safety in the adjacent provinces of the
Middle and Lower Shabelle. (People are reported still
fleeing the capital. We are expecting some more
information on that later today from our monitoring
network in Somalia).
On the first day
of the distribution yesterday, UNHCR and its Somali NGO
partners were able to reach 1,500 families, or about
9,000 people. All of them were living outdoors under
trees or simply out in the open. By this morning, many
of these families had already prepared makeshift
shelters with some of the plastic sheeting which they
received yesterday. We plan to continue with the
distribution this morning with the hope of reaching
another 500 families (3,000 people), all of whom are
living outdoors in Afgooye.
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The approach of the rainy season
makes the need for shelter material more pressing as families living under
the trees are exposed to the scorching sun, heavy rains and the chilling
nights. In addition to plastic sheeting, we have been able to distribute
sleeping mats and mosquito nets. Distribution is expected to continue this
weekend from stocks that were flown in from our emergency stockpiles in
Dubai to Baidoa. They were later trucked to Afgooye. Stocks include
blankets, plastic sheeting, jerry cans and kitchen sets for up to 20,000
people. UNHCR plans to airlift more relief supplies from Dubai next week,
and to distribute them in Afgooye. The extra supplies should cover an
additional 15,000 displaced people.
On Wednesday, we were able to send two truckloads of
much-needed relief and medical supplies from Dadaab refugee
camp, in north-eastern Kenya to Dobley, a small Somali
border town 18 kms from the Kenya / Somali border. The town
is struggling to cope with a recent influx of an estimated
4,000 displaced Somalis and an outbreak of diarrhea which
has so far claimed the lives of six children. By yesterday
afternoon, some of the supplies had been distributed at an
isolation camp set up by the community on the outskirts of
the town to stem the spread of the disease in the town. NGOs
report that there are now 50 people hospitalised in the
makeshift hospital.
Because of security concerns, the UN is unable to work in
these parts of Somalia and is providing assistance through
Somali NGOs. We are following up with our Somali partners in
Doble on the distribution of other relief supplies to the
displaced people in the border town.
Source: UNHCR, April 20, 2007
Remains to be answered is a key
question to The Unted Nation itself, which is :- " Should The Unted Nation
share war crimes responsibilties with both Warlords and TFG since the two
mentioned group could not committ War Crimes without the Unted Nation's
illegal fudings for 16 Years "?.
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Barnaamijyada
Idaacadda 04:00 GMT
* Filed Under: Top Headlines (English)