Further 62,000 refugees flee Somalia in past nine months

ACCORDING TO U.N. HUMANITARIAN AGENCY, AN ESTIMATED 3.7 MILLION SOMALIS ARE NOW IN URGENT NEED OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE DUE TO DROUGHT AND CONTINUING INSECURITY SPECIAL REPORT BY XINHUA CORRESPONDENT CHRIS MGIDU

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NAIROBI (XINHUA) -- ABOUT 62,000 SOMALIS BECAME REFUGEES IN THE REGION SURROUNDING THEIR COUNTRY BETWEEN JANUARY AND THE END OF SEPTEMBER, THE UN REFUGEE AGENCY SAID ON FRIDAY.

IN A STATEMENT, THE UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR) SAID MORE THAN 25,000 OF THESE FLED TO ETHIOPIA, MAKING IT THE LARGEST RECIPIENT OF SOMALI REFUGEES IN THE REGION SO FAR THIS YEAR.

"AS WELL AS SOMALIS, WHO CONSTITUTE THE LARGEST REFUGEE GROUP, ETHIOPIA ALSO HOSTS MORE THAN 91,000 SUDANESE REFUGEES, ALMOST 61, 000 ERITREANS, AND 4,000 REFUGEES FROM OTHER COUNTRIES.

"EVERY MONTH, ETHIOPIA GENEROUSLY TAKES THOUSANDS OF NEW ARRIVALS FROM NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES," UNHCR SAID.

BY COMPARISON, THE UN REFUGEE AGENCY SAID YEMEN REGISTERED 15, 000 SOMALI REFUGEES, KENYA 13,000, UGANDA 6,800 AND DJIBOUTI 2,300 OVER THE SAME PERIOD.

ACCORDING TO UNHCR, OVERALL THE NUMBER OF SOMALI REFUGEES IN THE REGION NUMBERS MORE THAN A MILLION.

"HALF OF THESE ARE IN KENYA, WHILE ETHIOPIA NOW HOSTS 214,000 – IN CAMPS AT DOLLO ADO AND SEVERAL HUNDRED KILOMETERS TO THE NORTH AT JIJIGA," IT SAID.

THE AGENCY SAID THE NEWEST IS BURAMINO CAMP IN ETHIOPIA, WHICH OPENED IN NOVEMBER LAST YEAR, AND IS NOW FULL TO CAPACITY WITH A POPULATION OF MORE THAN 32,000 REFUGEES. THERE ARE CURRENTLY FIVE CAMPS IN DOLLO ADO.

"NEW ARRIVALS ARE ALSO BEING TRANSFERRED TO THE KOBE AND HILLAWEYN CAMPS.

"WE HAVE INCREASED THE ACCOMMODATION CAPACITY OF THESE TWO SITES TO 30,000 PEOPLE EACH.

"THE TWO OLDEST CAMPS - BOKOLMANYO AND MELKADIDA – EACH HOST MORE THAN 40,000 PEOPLE," IT SAID.

SOMALI PEOPLE ARE FACING ONE OF THE WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISES IN THE WORLD TODAY WITH ONE IN THREE SOMALIS BEING IN URGENT NEED OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND ONE IN EVERY THREE CHILDREN LIVING IN THE SOUTH-CENTRAL REGION IS MALNOURISHED.

ACCORDING TO UN HUMANITARIAN AGENCY (OCHA), AN ESTIMATED 3.7 MILLION SOMALIS ARE NOW IN URGENT NEED OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE DUE TO DROUGHT AND INSECURITY INCIDENTS IN SOME PARTS OF THE HORN OF AFRICA NATION.

THE SOMALIS ARE LEAVING THEIR HOMES, WALKING THOUSANDS OF KILOMETERS IN SEARCH OF FOOD, MOST OF THEM ENDING UP IN IDP SETTLEMENTS WITHIN SOMALIA AND REFUGEE CAMPS IN KENYA AND ETHIOPIA, IN EXTREMELY MALNOURISHED CONDITIONS.

RELIEF AGENCIES SAY THE SITUATION IN MOST OF THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL PART OF SOMALIA REMAINS FLUID AND UNSTABLE, THOUGH THERE APPEARS TO BE RELATIVE CALM IS SOME AREAS.

THE DROUGHT HAS BEEN LESS SEVERE THIS YEAR, YET THE PROSPECTS FOR THE HARVEST NEXT MONTH ARE POOR. MANY PEOPLE STRUGGLE TO COPE, AS LIVELIHOODS REMAIN EXTREMELY FRAGILE.

AS PART OF THE OVERALL HUMANITARIAN EFFORT, UNHCR ALONE HAS DISTRIBUTED AID TO SOME DISPLACED INSIDE SOMALIA SINCE JANUARY.

ACCORDING TO UNHCR, REFUGEES TYPICALLY ARRIVE WITH A FEW BELONGINGS ONLY, ADDING THAT THEIR MOST URGENT NEEDS ARE EMERGENCY SHELTERS, FOOD AND ESSENTIAL AID ITEMS.

TO ADDRESS THESE NEEDS, THE UN REFUGEE AGENCY DISPATCHED A CONVOY OF NINE TRUCKS FROM KENYA LAST WEEK, CARRYING 10,000 PLASTIC SHEETS, 500 PLASTIC ROLLS, 20,000 BLANKETS, 15,000 SLEEPING MATS, 15,000 MOSQUITO NETS, AND 10,000 COLLAPSIBLE JERRY CANS.

"THE TRUCKS ARRIVED AT DOLLO ADO THROUGH THE SOUTHERN BORDER CROSSING OF MOYALE ON 10 OCTOBER AND THE AID IS BEING DISTRIBUTED TO NEW ARRIVALS IN THE CAMPS," IT SAID.

WITH PEOPLE STILL ARRIVING AT DOLLO ADO, UNHCR SAID THE ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT HAS AUTHORIZED THE OPENING OF A SIXTH SITE AND LAND FOR THIS HAS BEEN DESIGNATED BETWEEN THE TOWN OF KOLE AND KOBE CAMP, SOME 54 KM NORTH OF DOLLO ADO TOWN.

"THE COST OF OPENING THE NEW CAMP, SETTING UP BASIC SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDING MEDICAL, EDUCATION AND WAREHOUSING FACILITIES IS MORE THAN 5 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS.

"WE ARE SEEKING SUPPORT FROM DONORS AND PARTNERS, INCLUDING RESOURCES FOR NGO PARTNERS WHO WOULD BE WORKING IN THE CAMP," UNHCR SAID.

FOR THE INITIAL PHASE, THE AGENCY SAID IT URGENTLY NEED 1.5 MILLION DOLLARS FOR SITE PREPARATION, LAND DEMARCATION AND SETTING UP BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDING DRILLING OF BORE HOLES, SETTING UP WATER POINTS, EMERGENCY CLINIC AND LATRINES, AMONG OTHERS.

THE TERRAIN IN THE DOLLO ADO AREA IS ROCKY AND HARD, POSING ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES. IN 2012 WE HAVE RECEIVED 44 MILLION DOLLARS AGAINST THE NEEDS ASSESSED AT MORE THAN 112 MILLION DOLLARS. 

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