Over 1 Mln Are Internally Displaced in Somalia in Four Months

On Wednesday, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said that severe drought, recurrent conflict and devastating floods have forced more than 1 million people in Somalia to flee their homes in just 130 days.

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Conflict was among the main causes of displacement between Jan. 1 and May 10, while more than 408,000 people were displaced by floods sweeping across their villages and another 312,000 people were displaced by ravaging drought.

"We are working together with humanitarian agencies to respond as best we can, but with new displacement climbing by the day, the needs are overwhelming," UNHCR Representative in Somalia Magatte Guisse said.

"It's a great tragedy to witness the impact on Somalia's most vulnerable. They are the least responsible for the conflict and the climate crisis but are the hardest hit."

According to the two agencies, most of the displaced fled to the regions of Hiran in central Somalia and Gedo, in southern Somalia.

NRC Somalia Country Director Mohamed Abdi said these are alarming figures of some of the most vulnerable people forced to abandon the little that they had to head for the unknown.

"With 1 million people displaced already in less than five months, we can only fear the worst in the coming months as all the ingredients of this catastrophe are boiling in Somalia," Abdi said.

Those forced to flee are arriving in overcrowded urban areas and sites already hosting internally displaced people, placing immense strain on already overstretched resources and exposing vulnerable people to increasing protection risks such as evictions.

Over 3.8 million people are now displaced in Somalia, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation where some 6.7 million people are struggling to meet their food needs.

Over half a million Somali children are severely malnourished, but aid agencies have so far received only 22 percent of the resources required to deliver assistance this year.