OCHA Situation Report
Somalia
12 January 2007


Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Main Developments

Military operations, including the recent US air strikes on southern Somalia, 
have further complicated humanitarian access to populations in need of 
assistance. Humanitarian activities have been largely suspended since the 
conflict between TFG/Ethiopian and ICU forces began on 19 December. Of serious 
concern is the lack of information on the health and nutrition situation in 
south/central, as even local partners currently in-country are experiencing 
restricted movement, making assessments are impossible. The lack of information 
makes planning provision of assistance difficult. It is clear, however, that 
the health situation is critical. There is an urgent need to send to 
south/central Somalia medical specialists who can carry out diagnostic tests 
and perform surgeries. Mobile clinics are currently at a standstill in Jilib, 
Jamame and Buale, while residents are themselves afraid to travel to hospitals 
for fear of harassment or bombardment. Agencies are reporting that because of 
security concerns in certain areas of south/central, food distributions and 
provision of NFIs have been suspended. Further, if in-country humanitarian 
supplies (medical, NFIs, shelter, etc) become exhausted, the danger arises of 
resulting gaps due to the lack of new supplies entering Somalia.

The air strikes have reportedly resulted in unknown numbers of civilian deaths 
in the nomadic area bordering Kenya. Local communities are reporting large 
livestock losses in Ras Kamboni and Kilbui as a result of the strikes. Such 
losses threaten or destroy the livelihoods of many nomads and pastoralists in 
the area who depend on livestock for their survival.

Reports of the harassment by Ethiopian troops of Ethiopian Oromos residing in 
southern Somalia are increasing. Within the last week, a number of incidents 
have occurred. The body of an Oromo man was found dumped in Mogadishu, and 
there have been several reports of soldiers stopping buses traveling from 
Mogadishu to Jowhar and arresting Oromos onboard. An Oromo man traveling from 
Mogadishu to Bossaso was shot dead near Jowhar, and two men in his company were 
arrested. In Qoryooley (Lower Shabelle), eight Oromo men were arrested by 
military troops. There are fears that the targeting of Oromos may be spreading 
to Puntland (where they currently constitute the majority of asylum seekers), 
with unconfirmed reports received of the arbitrary arrest of Oromos in Galkayo. 
Local Oromo leaders were heard on radio in Somalia during the week urging the 
Somali authorities to protect them from the Ethiopian military.

Reports of revenge killings and politically instigated killings continue. There 
have also been reports in recent days of arrests by TFG forces of militia who 
had set up checkpoints in Mogadishu and of suspected ICU members in Mogadishu. 
Additionally, on 9 January, TFG forces reportedly arrested 7 Pakistani men who 
were preaching in a mosque in Mogadishu. The men are said to be members of the 
Tabligh (preaching) religious group, which operates legally in many countries, 
including Kenya. Some residents reportedly protested the arrests.

Militia continue to create insecurity. Unidentified militia are said to be 
still on the road between Mogadishu and Lower Shabelle, robbing and harassing 
travellers. In Afgoye (30km south of Mogadishu), the newly formed TFG 
administration imposed a curfew on 10 January. The curfew was announced after 
local militia reportedly exchanged fire in the town that morning.

Displacement

Reports from 11 January indicate movement out of Mogadishu, with 100 people 
going to Hargeisa (Somaliland). These people are thought to be families of 
businessmen who supported the ICU and thus fear revenge attacks in Mogadishu. 
Additionally, about 290 people ? mainly women and children ? are reported to be 
moving from Mogadishu to areas near Liboi on the Kenyan border, citing tension 
and insecurity as the cause.

Following the recent movement of 1,000 people from Ras Komboni (Lower Juba) to 
Kiuga (Kenya), another boat carrying 200 Somalis attempting to offload at Kiuga 
was refused by the Kenyan authorities. The people are said to have gone instead 
to Kismayo. Additionally, about 100 people have been displaced within Kismayo 
district due to clan conflict. It is not clear whether the clan conflict is 
related to fighting between the TFG/Ethiopian forces and the ICU. Meanwhile, 
conditions in the Kismayo IDP camps are reportedly getting worse, with 
overcrowding and tension increasing.

IDPs who fled the village of Gendershe (30km from Mogadishu) to Jilib and Merka 
during the first week of January are returning home, despite continuing tension 
in the area.

There has been further movement reported towards Dhobley on the Kenyan border, 
with unconfirmed numbers coming from Hayo (near Afmadow). Meanwhile, the 4,700+ 
IDPs from south/central Somalia already in Dhobley remain there, awaiting 
humanitarian assistance and unable to cross into Kenya due the GoK's closure of 
the border. Despite the fact that humanitarian relief has been unable to reach 
these IDPs ? and the fact that they are complaining of harassment from the 
Ethiopian army ? the IDPs are thought unlikely to return to their places of 
origin, because of fear of conflict or because their homes were destroyed by 
floods. Meanwhile, a planned joint UN-GoK mission that was to take place this 
week has been delayed until next week.

UNICEF and Save the Children-UK have today called attention to eyewitness 
accounts of children having featured prominently in recent fighting as active 
combatants. The agencies state that children are also being recruited to fight 
by emerging warlords. They call upon all armed groups to release children from 
their ranks or from detention centres, and request that the TFG and Somali 
institutions take all necessary steps to ensure that these children are, 
without discrimination, adequately cared for and safely reunited with their 
families.

Access and Response

The Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) for Somalia was in Mogadishu 10-11 January, 
where he met with the TFG President and Prime Minister, as well as members of 
civil society. He also visited prisons and hospitals. The HC stresses the 
importance of acting now in the form of high-impact activities prioritizing: 
security/law and order, education and back-to-school programmes, livelihood 
support, the situation of IDPs residing in public buildings and settlements, 
and insitutional capacity building.

This week, some UN agencies and INGOs flew international staff to Wajid (the 
only airstrip currently open for passengers and cargo in south/central) and 
commenced distribution of assistance. The Therapeutic Feeding Centre of ACF is 
functioning and ACF distributed BP5 to 8,500 children under 5 years in Wajid, 
while World Vision has distributed 821mt of food in Buale and Wajid and another 
174mt to the school feed programmes in Buale.

The Kenyan border remains closed, compounding access problems, with trucks 
carrying relief supplies stuck in no man's land between the Kenyan and Somali 
borders. As roads in Somalia have dried following the flooding, these trucks, 
were they allowed to enter the country, would be able to deliver some 
assistance. Road transport inside Somalia is proceeding without incident.

For further information, contact:

Molly McCloskey (mob: +254 727 659 100) or Rita Maingi (mob: +254 722 334 
671)Office tel: +254 (20) 375 4150-5

mccloskeym@un.org, maingir@un.org

http://ochaonline.un.org/somalia

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