Main Developments
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The number of Somalis currently in need of humanitarian assistance and livelihoods support - now 2.4 million, 32 per cent of the population in the country – is expected to increase further in the coming months. This is due to the drought affecting most of Somalia, increases in food prices and conflict in some areas.
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Increases in water and cereal prices are making it difficult for poor households to feed themselves. People’s purchasing power is decreasing as food prices rise and livestock prices decrease. According to the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU), the price of cereals is 135 per cent higher than this time last year in parts of southern Somalia. Considering the limited humanitarian response possible due to restricted access, especially in the south where the majority of those in need are located, the UN fears that the population will suffer the worst consequences of the drought in the coming months.
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Access to south central is becoming more difficult. On 19 April, Al Shabaab forces entered the UN Common Compound (UNCC) in Baidoa, Bay region, and looted all OCHA office assets. The reasons for this attack are still unknown. It remains unclear whether OCHA has been banned from areas under Al Shabaab’s control.
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Conflict between the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM)/Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces and Al Shabaab continued in Mogadishu. The toll of casualties continues to rise, with the two main hospitals in Mogadishu reporting 318 civilians admitted with weapon-related injuries, of whom 11 were children below the age of 5 in April alone. The total number of persons with weapon-related injuries in 2011 has risen to 1,756.
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Displacement continues due to conflict and drought. Over 12,000 people were displaced in April, 5,400 of them from the capital Mogadishu. An estimated 2,600 fled to relatively safer areas of Mogadishu, while 2,800 managed to escape from the capital, mainly joining the over 410,000 IDPs settled in the Afgooye corridor.
Disclaimer
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.