Tag: SOMALIA

Somalia has faced numerous attacks from al-Shabab and recently the government embarked on what has been described as the most significant offensive against the extremist group in more than a decade…reports Asian Lite News

Somalia’s “dire hunger emergency” is spiraling upward with one-third of the population expected to face crisis or worse levels of food needs, but the U.N. has been forced to drastically cut food assistance because of a lack of funding, the head of the World Food Program said Thursday.

Cindy McCain told the U.N. Security Council the latest food security data show that over 6.6 million Somalis desperately need assistance including 40,000 “fighting for survival in famine-like conditions.”

But she said WFP was forced to cut monthly food assistance, which had reached a record 4.7 million people in December, to just 3 million people at the end of April – “and without an immediate cash injection, we’ll have to cut our distribution lists again in July to just 1.8 million per month.”

McCain, who visited Somalia last month, said she saw “how conflict and climate change are conspiring to destroy the lives and livelihoods of millions of Somalis.” She said the country’s longest drought on record, which killed millions of livestock and decimated crops, recently gave way to disastrous flash floods in the south.

Urging donors to be as generous as they were and hauling Somalia “back from the abyss of famine in 2022,” McCain warned that the survival of millions of Somalis is at stake.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Somalia in April “to ring the alarm” and appealed for “massive international support” for Somalia.

But the results of a high-level donors’ conference for three Horn of Africa countries – Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya – on May 24 were very disappointing. It raised less than $1 billion of the more than $5 billion organizers were hoping for to help over 30 million people.

Only in the past few years has Somalia begun to find its footing after three decades of chaos from warlords to the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group and the emergence of Islamic State-linked extremist groups. Last May, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who served as Somalia’s president between 2012 and 2017, was returned to the top office by legislators after a protracted contest.

Somalia has faced numerous attacks from al-Shabab and recently the government embarked on what has been described as the most significant offensive against the extremist group in more than a decade.

Catriona Laing, the new U.N. special representative for Somalia, told the council that the government’s operations have degraded al-Shabab militarily and dislodged its fighters from a number of areas which is “a notable achievement.”

But Laing said al-Shabab remains a significant threat,” pointing to “a recent resurgence in the scale, tempo and geographic distribution” of its attacks including a June 9 attack on the Pearl Beach Hotel in the capital Mogadishu that killed nine people.

The African Union has a force in Somalia providing support to government forces battling al-Shabab. Last year, the Security Council unanimously approved a new AU transition mission known as ATMIS, to support the Somalis until their forces take full responsibility for the country’s security at the end of 2024.

Laing said the drawdown of ATMIS and handover are proceeding, but her initial assessment “is that the complexity, the constraints, and pace of the transition process presents risks, (and) this will be challenging.”

ALSO READ-Somalia wants to strengthen ties with India

OCHA said the current drought is the longest and most severe in recent history and has surpassed the 2010/2011 and 2016/2017 droughts in terms of duration and severity…reports Asian Lite News

More than 8.3 million people require humanitarian assistance in Somalia where significant segments of the population are on the brink of famine, the United Nations relief agency said on Wednesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that in the absence of adequate funding and enhanced capacity, famine is projected between April and June in the three population groups including Baidoa and Burhakaba rural districts as well as internally displaced people (IDPs) in Baidoa and Mogadishu.

“Somalis are hungrier, sicker, and more vulnerable than a year ago, pushing an ever greater number of people into reliance on humanitarian assistance for survival,” OCHA said in its latest update on the humanitarian situation in Somalia.

It said even if no famine emerges, the humanitarian situation is extremely alarming since more than 6.3 million Somalis are expected to face high levels of food insecurity between January and March, including 322,000 in catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

“The cumulative levels of excess mortality could be as high as in 2011 when almost 260,000 people lost their lives, at least half of them children. In 2022 alone, 1,049 children died in nutrition centers and many more without even accessing the centers,” OCHA said.

The crisis is caused by the historic failure of four consecutive rainy seasons, persistent conflict, displacement, and high food prices that have left millions of people at risk and are pushing people in Somalia to the brink of famine.

OCHA said the current drought is the longest and most severe in recent history and has surpassed the 2010/2011 and 2016/2017 droughts in terms of duration and severity.

It also said the recent escalation of the military offensive against al-Shabab, in addition to ongoing political and inter-clan tensions, has resulted in significant humanitarian impacts including increased displacement and reprisal attacks.

“Overall, it is expected that up to 450,000 additional civilians will be displaced due to conflict in 2023,” it warned, noting that protection concerns include widespread forced family separation, indiscriminate attacks against civilians, freedom of movement restrictions, forced recruitment, abductions and destruction of civilian infrastructure.

OCHA believed the ongoing military operations offer both an opportunity for expanded access into areas previously under al-Shabab control as well as the increased likelihood of widespread insecurity and acute deterioration of humanitarian access.

“This uncertainty will require partners to exercise flexibility in programming to adapt to shifting insecurity, to assess and provide assistance in newly recovered areas as well as to engage in coordinated advocacy for the protection of civilians,” OCHA said.

ALSO READ-Somalia hails UAE relief to those affected by drought

The UN envoy’s statement came after the Somali security forces ended a 30-hour siege at Hayat Hotel which had been attacked by al-Shabab militants…reports Asian Lite News

The United Nations senior envoy in Somalia on Sunday called for lasting support for the victims in Somalia amid a surge in attacks by al-Shabab militants across the country.

James Swan, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, urged that the victims and their families be provided both immediate and longer-term support, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The UN stands in solidarity with all Somali victims and survivors of terrorism as they heal from their trauma, along with their families and communities,” Swan said in a statement issued in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, to mark the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism.

He said the voices of survivors must be heard and acknowledged, and their rights upheld, noting that the weekend’s terrorist violence in Mogadishu is a stark reminder of just how vital this is.

The UN envoy’s statement came after the Somali security forces ended a 30-hour siege at Hayat Hotel which had been attacked by al-Shabab militants.

A police officer said the specialised security forces neutralised the attackers who had detonated explosives and blasted their way inside the popular hotel, a hangout for civilians, government officials, and lawmakers.

“The security forces used heavy weapons and explosives to kill all the attackers. The scene has been quiet for some time now and there is now gunfire coming from the hotel. The siege has ended,” the police officer who declined to be identified told Xinhua on Saturday night.

However, the residents said they could still hear sounds of gunfire inside the Hayat Hotel on Sunday morning.

Somali government has confirmed that 21 people were killed and several others, including security officers, wounded in the attack.

The Health Minister Ali Haji Adan on Sunday said 15 of the wounded persons sustained serious injuries and were in critical condition after the attackers who had detonated explosives and blasted their way inside the popular Hayat hotel and engaged the security forces in a gunfight that lasted 30 hours.

“Twenty-one people were killed and 117 others wounded in the heinous terrorist attack on Hayat hotel in Mogadishu”, Haji told the state-owned Somali National Television.

Earlier, Police Commissioner Abdi Hassan Mohamed told journalists in Mogadishu that the security forces ended al-Shabab’s siege of Hayat hotel in Mogadishu on Sunday morning.

Mohamed said the specialised security forces focused entirely on rescuing the people at the scene during the operations, noting that 106 people, including women and children were rescued.

ALSO READ-OIC condemns terrorist attack in Somalia