Emergency Aid Begins to Reach Some People in Mass Exodus from Mogadishu

Posted: 2 November 2007

The fighting that drove about 400,000 residents from their homes in Mogadishu last December has flared again, forcing a new exodus of an estimated 88,000 from the Somali capital in the last four days of October.

A consortium of 39 international and local aid groups, including Oxfam, has warned of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Somalia, compounded by new waves of people fleeing from Mogadishu. While Oxfam’s partners in the country have been able to step in quickly and begin providing clean water and sanitation services to some of the people who have fled and residents of the communities that harbor them, Oxfam and other international and national aid groups are concerned that they are not able to respond adequately to the crisis due to the deterioration of access and security in Somalia.

Streams of families are now flooding areas already inundated by thousands of displaced people, and their numbers are expected to climb. About 295,000 people, many of whom are in Mogadishu and the Shabelles regions, were in need of urgent life-saving assistance before this fresh burst of violence began. This new outbreak follows an offensive against anti-government forces launched last December by the Transitional Federal Government, or TFG—recognized internationally as Somalia’s legitimate authority.

Emergency Interventions Amid Great Danger

Oxfam’s Somali partners have initiated emergency interventions that include trucking in water to overburdened communities and constructing latrines. The programs, which are expected to last at least four weeks, are benefitting up to 280,000 people.

However, high levels of insecurity make this work extremely difficult to carry out. Harassment, intimidation, roadside bombs, and landmines are among the impediments. A growing number of checkpoints—with rising prices for passage—also threaten to delay access.

“While humanitarian needs in Somalia are increasing exponentially, access to communities in need has decreased dramatically,” said an Oxfam spokesman. “Due to this, international aid groups are unable to respond effectively to the crisis.”

“The international community and all parties to the present conflict have a responsibility to protect civilians, to allow the delivery of aid, and to respect humanitarian space and the safety of humanitarian workers,” said the consortium in a statement released a few days after the exodus began.

According to the United Nations, an estimated 1.5 million people in Somalia need humanitarian assistance—a 50 percent increase since the beginning of 2007. Many of them are children, one in seven of whom in the south-central part of the country are either malnourished or severely malnourished.

With funding and technical assistance, Oxfam is working with seven local organizations in Somalia to provide water, shelter, food, and basic household goods to hundreds of thousands of people in desperate need of assistance.