OCHA Situation Report
Somalia
Monthly Analysis - April 2006
9 May 2006


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

This report was written in cooperation with the UN Agencies in Somalia

HIGHLIGHTS

The early warning issued in February 2006 by FAO/FSAU that some regions 
of southern Somalia could face a moderate risk of famine conditions 
during the second half of 2006 if the Gu rains failed, has now 
dissipated. Good and generally well distributed rains fell over much of 
southern and northwest Somalia during April, and just recently over the 
northeast, mitigating the effects of the drought. This said, while the 
start of the 2006 Gu season brings welcome improved conditions, it is 
still too early to determine its impact on the present situation. A 
clearer understanding of the Gu's performance will only be possible 
towards the end of May 2006.

Even if the Gu rains are good, humanitarian needs in Somalia will remain 
vast and require concerted and sustained efforts. The aid community is 
fully engaged in responding to the crisis, but various factors continue 
to affect the pace, coverage and implementation of the response, 
including logistical constraints due to the continuing lack of 
infrastructure and now localized flooding; insecurity; lack of 
sustainable access and humanitarian space; lack of partners and poor 
operational capacity; and delayed funding from donors.

During his second visit to the region, and a one day visit to Somalia on 
1 May 2006, the Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mr. 
Kjell Magne Bondevik stressed that even if recent rains have mitigated 
the impact of the drought in some of the more critically affected areas, 
they bring new challenges such as a heightened risk of water borne 
diseases, difficulties of access, and localized flooding. Mr. Bondevik 
noted that it is critical that immediate humanitarian needs are met and 
that there also be an investment in longer-term rehabilitation to pave 
the way for development.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Gedi and Parliamentary Speaker Shaykh 
Aden, Mr. Bondevik reiterated the paramount importance of safe and 
sustainable humanitarian access for the delivery of aid assistance in 
Somalia and called upon the Transitional Federal Government to do what 
is in its power to facilitate and promote an enabling environment for 
service delivery. Throughout the month, efforts also persisted in 
garnering grass-root support for basic humanitarian principles on access 
and protection.

The situation in Mogadishu remained tense during April with rising 
friction between the 'Union of the Islamic Courts' and the 'Alliance for 
the Restoration of Peace and Counter-terrorism'. Concerns are high that 
fighting might erupt at any time further aggravating the already 
precarious humanitarian situation. Of particular concern to aid 
organizations is the protection of civilians, particularly those who do 
not have the means to leave the capital, as many have already been 
doing. An operational contingency plan is being elaborated while all 
those concerned are called upon by the civilian population to desist 
from fighting.

A total of 202 wild poliovirus cases have now been confirmed in Somalia 
and results are pending on seven additional suspected cases. Polio was 
eradicated in Somalia in 2002, but now the country poses one of the 
greatest threats to the global eradication of polio. Mogadishu region 
experiences the majority of the outbreak (162 cases) but Lower Shabelle 
and Middle Shabelle, Bay, Sool, Mudug, Gedo, Lower Juba, and Bari are 
also impacted.

During a stop-over in Nairobi, on 27 April, the High Commissioner for 
Human Rights, Louise Arbour, met with aid organizations active in 
Somalia to assess the prevailing human rights situation in Somalia.

ACCESS and SECURITY

After Baidoa was closed to UN staff at the end of March 2006, security 
concerns persisted in April related to the presence in town of unpaid 
roaming militia cantoned outside Baidoa. To mention a few episodes, on 7 
April, armed militia took over the empty annex to UNICEF's compound that 
had been loaned to the Parliament - later returned on 19 April. On 10 
April, a security incident over the transit of a WFP food convoy to 
Baidoa resulted in the death of at least one militiaman and a number of 
injuries, including that of an MP. Although the situation temporarily 
improved with the arrival of a considerable number of militia from 
Puntland in mid-April, overall security in Baidoa still needs to be 
addressed. Efforts are now being made by the UN and the international 
community to help stabilise Baidoa and provide support for the 
institutional set-up of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). 
Elders active in the Digil and Mirifle reconciliation process in Bakool 
also continue to work for the stabilization of Baidoa and the region at 
large.

The situation in Mogadishu remained tense during April with rising 
friction between the 'Union of the Islamic Courts' and the 'Alliance for 
the Restoration of Peace and Counter-terrorism'. Mediation efforts by 
elders have ceased and the two sides have been engaging in recriminatory 
exchanges as well as regrouping and rearming. Fighting could blow up at 
any time now and concerns are high that the fighting will be the worse 
seen yet, with a potential of spreading into other areas of southern 
Somalia. This would have disastrous humanitarian consequences at a time 
when local stability is key for the success of the humanitarian 
response.

Sporadic bursts of fighting in April between the two sides have already 
triggered movement of residents. According to reports, those with the 
means to do so are moving out, in some cases as far as Kenya. Of most 
concern to the aid community are thus the most vulnerable groups who do 
not have the means to move far and who might end up moving from one part 
of the capital to the other, avoiding neighbourhoods where the fighting 
takes place. Intense fighting would also heavily impact on access of aid 
supplies into southern Somalia as El Ma'an port is the main supply 
pipeline into the area. After the fighting in Mogadishu in March, WFP 
food aid was stuck for five days in the port until the fighting ceased.

In southern Somalia particularly, efforts have been on-going to 
disseminate and sensitise local authorities on basic humanitarian 
principles on access and protection of aid as well as aid personnel. 
During his one-day visit to Somalia on 1 May 2006, and in talking to 
Prime Minister Gedi, the Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of 
Africa, Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevik reiterated the paramount importance of 
safe and sustainable humanitarian access for the delivery of aid 
assistance in Somalia. On Mogadishu, Mr. Bondevik appealed to all those 
concerned to work towards the deflation of the situation.

April saw more acts of piracy, the latest one occurring on 27 April when 
pirates hijacked a Kismayo-bound vessel off the coast of Harardheere 
(Galgadud region) and commandeered it to the coastal town of Gaan. The 
vessel has now reportedly been released but the threat of more such 
incidences remains.

In the Juba regions, the volatile security situation remains an 
overriding constraint limiting the presence and activity of humanitarian 
organizations. A number of roadblocks and checkpoints between Afmadow 
and Dhobley and Buale and Sakow continue to be reported and aside for a 
general lack of proper infrastructure, access by road is now hampered by 
the arrival of the Gu rains that have rendered seasonal roads 
impassable. Reduced access due to the rains was also reported in Berdale 
and Dinsor in Bay region. WFP, whose activities particularly have slowed 
down due to the rains, has already developed an airdrop operation plan 
should roads become completely inaccessible.

In the northwest, the overall situation was calm except for increased 
tension due to intense hostilities between the Puntland authorities and 
the predominantly Warsangeli community in the Majayahan area (Eastern 
Sanaag) over exploration of mineral resources.

In the northeast, as of 15 April, all UN international staff was cleared 
to return to Garowe after Abdi Salad Abdi was officially sworn in as the 
new Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, ending an 
extended period of high tension in the Garowe area. UN staff had been 
relocated to Bossaso due to insecurity stemming from the cabinet 
reshuffle in late February 2006.

PROTECTION

As movement of population throughout southern Somalia continues to be 
tracked, of concern is whether the displaced have access to assistance 
in their new locations of displacement, or as the case may be with the 
onset of the rains, back in their original place of origin. Protection 
needs remain greatest amongst protracted IDP communities that are 
burdened by multiple displacements. In urban centers, the displaced have 
received some form of assistance, for example food aid through WFP, but 
relatively little else. In rural areas, where access to and information 
on the displaced is limited, the situation is even harder to monitor. 
The Protection Working Group is following up with the relevant clusters 
on the need to share information to better target the needs of the 
displaced. Increased efforts are also being made to enhance reporting 
capacity as well as augment the number of partners involved in the 
tracking system to enhance analysis of movement patterns and trends.

According to the tracking and analysis of population movements, during 
the start of April the majority of movements were related to 
pastoralists as well as IDPs primarily induced by both drought and 
conflict. During the first two weeks of the month, 2,271 pastoralist 
families moved to Belet Hawa town in Gedo region and surrounding areas. 
Another 210 pastoralist families were reported to have arrived in the 
IDP settlement of Kulanjareer in Lower Shabelle, while 200 pastoralist 
families settled in the northern outskirts of Wajid town. Movement of 
IDPs was also recorded towards the outskirts of Luuq town and Wajid town 
(2,500 IDP families), while another 1,360 families were reported to have 
arrived in Qansadhere town. Since the start of the rains, movements 
generally reflect the expected seasonal patterns, but also show the 
continued desperation of the Somali people. Indeed, there has been a 
de-concentration of pastoralist families in riverine areas, as those 
still with livestock have returned to hinterland pastoral areas where 
rain has fallen. On the other hand, non-pastoralists, and pastoralists 
who have lost most or all of their livestock and other assets, remain in 
urban areas in search of alternative livelihood opportunities or 
humanitarian aid.

As reported in last month's report, in late March 1,780 Somalis had 
crossed the border and arrived in Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya. 
At the time it was unclear if they had left Somalia as a result of the 
drought or due to the fighting in Mogadishu in February 2006. As now 
confirmed by UNHCR, the Somalis arrived from Benadir, Lower and Middle 
Juba region. Of the total, 612 arrived from Mogadishu and surrounding 
areas (70% being single male applicants aged between 15 and 22 years 
old) all claiming to have fled the fighting. The rest, from Lower and 
Middle Juba, cited both clan fighting as well as the drought as a reason 
of their movement.

On 27 April, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, met 
with the Somalia UNCT, the international community and Protection 
Working group to assess the prevailing human right situation in Somalia. 
Given the weak human rights environment in Somalia and the need to 
assist the Somali authorities in building appropriate institutions, 
discussions evolved around the role of the Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the possible opening of an 
OHCHR office in Somalia by the end of the year.

Between 19 and 24 April, three fires broke out in three different IDP 
settlements in Bossaso, Puntland. In all, 16 households were destroyed 
but no lives lost. The frequency of such outbreaks before the arrival of 
the hot and windy season is a worrying trend. Since the beginning of the 
year, six different fires have occurred in sites in Puntland: three in 
Bossaso, two in Garowe and one in Galkayo. At a meeting on 25 April 
among aid partners and the Bossaso Municipality, discussions focused on 
developing a Fire Fighting and Prevention Plan for IDP sites, with 
UNHABITAT providing technical backstopping on urban planning and 
development of the settlements. The Fire Plan intends to find immediate 
ways to decrease the risks and exposure of the IDP settlements to fire 
outbreaks ahead of the imminent hot season.

In Somalia's deeply traditional and strongly patriarchal society, 
women's issues are still not given the due consideration and priority. 
One such issue is women's access to justice and representation in 
courts. Women in Somaliland have stated that they prefer to refer their 
cases to the Sharia Courts as it often offers them the best forms of 
redress and recognises the rights awarded to them by Allah. Since 2003, 
UNIFEM has been working in collaboration with its partner East African 
Human Rights Watch (EAHRW) to engender the legal and judicial systems in 
Somaliland. In November 2005, EAHRW started providing legal services in 
Hargeisa which mainly targets women litigants. As in other locations, 
land disputes are numerous in Somaliland and in April, EAHRW listed land 
disputes as the key complaint for women to seek legal intervention. Most 
cases are brought out by women who are widowed, divorced or abandoned by 
their husbands yet these women are the most vulnerable in the society as 
they have no one to fight for them or to protect them from being 
exploited. EAHRW underscores that women in Somaliland lack adequate 
access to legal information when compared to their male counterparts. 
This is largely as a result of the high levels of illiteracy among women 
and the cultural barriers that they encounter when seeking legal 
redress. There are three legal systems in Somaliland: - customary-Xeer, 
Sharia and secular. The interpretation and management of these systems 
are often male dominated resulting in discrimination against women and 
infringement on their individual rights. The cost and time needed for 
court appearances often causes many women to give up their cases 
midstream. Raising awareness and offering women free assistance and 
legal advice is one of the key steps towards access to justice by the 
women.

RETURN and REINTEGRATION

At the height of the Somali crisis in the early 1990s, nearly half of 
the then 7.5 million population was either internally or externally 
displaced. Since then, over one million Somali refugees have returned 
home from exile, half of them with UNHCR assistance. An estimated 
700,000 refugees have returned to Somaliland alone, while over 400,000 
have returned to Puntland. With the voluntary repatriation to Somaliland 
close to completion - UNHCR expects to complete repatriation to 
Somaliland by mid-2006, with the last 6,000 refugees returning from 
Djibouti -, the voluntary repatriation prospects of the remaining Somali 
refugees in exile depends on tangible improvements in the security 
situation, provision of basic services and income generation 
opportunities in the future areas of return, namely Puntland and 
Central/South Somalia.

It is estimated that some 350,000 Somali refugees remain in exile 
(226,300 in the immediate region: Djibouti - 6,000; Ethiopia - 15,175; 
Kenya - 138,826; and Yemen - 63,551. Others in locations such as Europe, 
USA and other gulf countries). With these figures in mind, UNHCR is 
forging partnerships with other agencies including FAO and UNDP, to help 
consolidate the process of repatriation of refugees and reintegration of 
returnees to Puntland and Central/South Somalia. In these zones, UNHCR 
is allocating increased resources to enhance its involvement in 
reintegration activities. By 30 April, UNHCR had initiated 15 Quick 
Impact Projects in education, income generation, sanitation, farming and 
returnee monitoring. It is expected that as conditions improve, the 
number of Somali refugees who will repatriate, particularly from Yemen, 
may increase in the coming months of 2006 as compared to last year, and 
may be at its peak in 2007 and 2008.

LAW and ORDER

On 21 April, the first police officers to be trained in decades 
graduated from the Armo Police Academy in Puntland which initiated 
training in December 2005. Over the last five months, 132 male and 19 
female cadets underwent an intensive training course covering law 
enforcement, international standards of human rights, community 
policing, basic police training, investigations, non-violent 
disarmament, physical fitness, self-defense and discipline. Computer 
lessons were also provided for female cadets. Coming from the different 
regions of Puntland and the Centre/South, the police officers will be 
deployed to service in Baidoa, where the Extraordinary Session of the 
Somali Transitional Federal Parliament is currently taking place, as 
well as in newly constructed police stations for the protection of IDPs 
in Garowe and Bossaso in Puntland.

The first phase of construction of Armo Police Training Academy is 
complete. The second phase is ongoing, and includes a dispensary that 
the local Armo community will have access to, dormitories for female 
cadets, two classrooms, two additional dormitories for male cadets, a 
multi-purpose hall and sports facilities. Once completed, the training 
facility will accommodate up to 600 police officers.

As part of UNDP's Rule of Law Programme, the establishment of the Armo 
Police Academy has as an ultimate goal the development of a professional 
civilian force able to effectively contribute to the restoration of 
peace while training the trust of the community, and the provision of 
high calibre training. Part of ensuring the longevity of the Academy is 
the engagement of former police officers to conduct the training.

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