Somalia: Situation Report - 23 Mar 2007

Main Developments

This week saw the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu since the ICU was ousted by TFG/Ethiopian forces at the end of December. Gun battles and mortar attacks – on the seaport, various neighbourhoods in Mogadishu, Hamar Jajab market and other locations – took place and civilian casualties were reported. Fighting between TFG/Ethiopian forces and opposing militia seriously escalated Wednesday (21 March), with the scene becoming brutal as militia dragged soldiers' bodies through the streets of Mogadishu. Violence continued Thursday until a lull in the fighting followed a meeting between Hawiye elders and Ethiopian military officers in Mogadishu at which an informal ceasefire was reportedly agreed. However, fighting in the city resumed Friday.

The number of casualties following the recent days of violence remains unconfirmed, though deaths are estimated in the dozens and the number of wounded at over a hundred. The humanitarian situation in Mogadishu continues to deteriorate, with thousands of people fleeing the city. Public transport services have reportedly ceased operating and many business have shut down due to restrictions on movement.

Insecurity, although at a much lower level, continued in other parts of South/Central during the week. On 18 March, four cars transporting UN staff from Baidoa to Mogadishu overran a land mine near Afgoye checkpoint. It is not clear whether the explosion was targeted. One car was destroyed and at least six people were injured, though no one was killed. Several roads remain unsafe, with a high number of roadblocks on the road from Mogadishu to Lower and Middle Juba. The Mogadishu-Beletweyne road remains highly insecure due to sporadic ambushes.

Displacement

While last week it was reported that more than 40,000 people had fled Mogadishu during the month of February due to rising insecurity and violence, thousands more are reported to have left the capital in recent days due to escalation of the military operations. Movement continued towards Afgoye and Lafoole – where large new IDP populations from Mogadishu are already located – and to central regions of Somalia. People are said to have fled Wardhigley, Yaqshid, Hodan and Howlwadag districts in south Mogadishu and, most recently, Abdulaziz and Shibis districts in north Mogadishu. Movement is also being triggered by yesterday's reported warning that residents of a particular 10km square area [containing 6,000 – 8,000 families] should vacate their premises as large security operations are planned by Ethiopian/TFG forces.

The vulnerability of IDPs was once again underscored last Friday when another fire ravaged an IDP settlement, this time at Damayo in Mogadishu. Nearly all the shelters in the settlement were destroyed. Though everyone escaped the fire, more than 170 families were left homeless. Field reports and local media indicate that the blaze – as was the case in Galkayo (Puntland) earlier this month – was intentionally set, possibly by men who had visited the site the previous day, claiming to own the land and ordering IDPs to vacate it or face the consequences.

Access and Response

Given the rising IDP population in areas surrounding Mogadishu, humanitarian access to K50 airstrip is becoming increasingly urgent. K50 has been inaccessible from early January. On numerous occasions since that time, the UN has requested of the TFG immediate use of K50 for humanitarian flights but is still awaiting an answer. The HC has also requested support and assistance in resuming humanitarian flights to Jowhar (Middle Shabelle), Merka (Lower Shabelle), Buale (Middle Juba), Jamame and Kismayo (Lower Juba).

The number of reported cases of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) in South/Central Somalia since 1 January 2007 stands at 5,602, with 251 deaths. Monitoring and response by health partners to AWD continues in the affected regions of Hiran, Lower and Middle Shabelle, Gedo, Lower Juba and Benadir. However, response in Mogadishu has been affected during the week by the intense fighting in the city. Since 1 January 2007, there have been 2,366 cases of AWD reported in Mogadishu, with 40 deaths. (Field reports indicate that many IDPs seen leaving Mogadishu are suffering from AWD.) Although adequate supplies are on the ground to respond to the caseload, and four Cholera Treatment Centres (CTCs) are operational in four Mogadishu hospitals, restricted movement within Mogadishu and lack of access to the city from outside is hindering response.

The Somaliland authorities on 22 March lifted the ban issued 17 March on flights into Somaliland from Puntland and South/Central Somalia. The authorities had cited fears of a cholera outbreak when issuing the ban.

Reports detailing response activities by cluster (Who does What Where) are available on the OCHA website at http://ochaonline2.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=5066

For further information, contact:

Molly McCloskey +254 727 659 100 or Rita Maingi +254 722 334 671
mccloskeym@un.org, maingir@un.org

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