Main Developments

According to hospital reports, on 17/18 January, over 150 people were treated for injuries and an unconfirmed number, including children, killed. There were several mortar and rocket attacks which mainly targeted Villa Somalia, the airport and Hodan district. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that over 1,700 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) were forced to leave Hodan and Daynile districts during the week. An unknown number of IDPs also left Wardiigley, Hawl Wadaag, Haliwaa, and Yaaqshiid districts of Mogadishu. Since 1 January an additional 26,000 people have been displaced due to the ongoing fighting in the city. The security situation in the rest of the country is relatively calm.

Humanitarian agencies continue to provide assistance to displaced people in the Afgooye/Mogadishu stretch. Water and Sanitation Cluster reports that about 3 million liters of water is being delivered to the population along the Mogadishu/Afgooye road. Despite this quantity, challenges still remain, especially concerning geographic repartition, meaning people close to the road receive much more than those in more remote places, and storage of the water.

Some 53,000 people a day in Mogadishu are now receiving cooked meals through NGO SAACID supported by World Food Programme (WFP). The 'wet feeding' programme started in November and now operates at 10 sites across the city. It is the first time since the 1992-93 humanitarian emergencies that prepared meals are distributed in Somalia.

On 18 and 19 January, more than 130 people died (most of them Somalis), when their boats capsized off Yemen coast, bringing the total number of deaths or missing in 2008 at 157. It is anticipated that with the ongoing insecurity in Southern Somalia and deteriorating economy, crossings in 2008 will rise to record-high compared to previous years.

According to a Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) report issued this week, the Deyr rains (October-December) have been below normal in most parts of central Somalia, resulting in limited grassing for animals and reduced water availability. Reports from the field in the past two weeks have indicated severe water shortage for both humans and animals in central regions of Hiraan and Galgaduud and pockets of Bay and Bakool. Population movements due to the drought were also reported this week in Belet Amin (Afgooye), were over 480 people moved to an IDP settlement due to shortage of water in their areas of origin. The Food Security Analysis Unit will release a comprehensive Post-Deyr report next week.

In the light of the expected continued deterioration of the food security situation in Somalia, WFP needs an additional 40,000 metric tons of food to feed some 1.4 million people in Somalia between January and July 2008. For the whole year, WFP plans to feed a total of 1.8 million people in Somalia including 590,000 displaced people in South Central, 905,000 vulnerable people for general food distribution in the South and 305,000 others in the North.

The French Navy will escort the last vessel loaded with food back to Mombasa once it finishes unloading at the southern Somali port of Marka. The Danish government is at a final stage in considering to take-over the French naval protection to ensure safe passage against pirates to ships carrying WFP food.

Somaliland

On 24 January, UNHABITAT handed over 86 newly constructed low-cost shelters for IDP families in one of the major IDP settlement in Hargeysa. Altogether a total of 173 low-lost houses have been constructed.

Further Information, contact:

Rita Maingi on +254 734 800 120 – maingir@un.org

Muna Mohamed on + 254 733 643 737 - mohamed26@un.org