A toxic mix of conflict, severe drought and devastating floods has forced more than 1 million people in Somalia to flee their homes since the beginning of this year – a record rate of displacement for the country, reported the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on Wednesday.
The figures recorded by the aid agencies through the Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN) show that conflict was among the main causes of internal displacement between 1 January and 10 May this year, while over 408,000 people were displaced by floods sweeping across their villages and another 312,000 people were displaced by ravaging drought. Most of them fled to the regions of Hiraan in central Somalia and Gedo, in southern Somalia.
“These are alarming figures of some of the most vulnerable people forced to abandon the little that they had to head for the unknown,” said NRC’s Somalia Country Director Mohamed Abdi.
“With 1 million people displaced already in less than five months, we can only fear the worst in the coming months as all the ingredients of this catastrophe are boiling in Somalia.”
In recent weeks, the longest drought in recorded history in Somalia has given way to rains and flash flooding. Despite the relief brought by the rains, it will take years to recover from the historic drought. More flooding is expected later this year, partly due to the forecasted El Niño phenomenon, potentially leading to further displacement, death and disease.
Many of those forced to flee are arriving in overcrowded urban areas and sites already hosting internally displaced people (IDPs) placing immense strain on already overstretched resources and exposing vulnerable people to increasing protection risks such as evictions, family separation and gender-based violence.
Food, shelter, and protection services including child protection and prevention of gender-based violence are among people’s urgent needs.
"The humanitarian needs in Somalia continue to grow. We are working together with humanitarian agencies to respond as best we can, but with new displacement climbing by the day, the needs are overwhelming", said UNHCR’s Representative in Somalia, Magatte Guisse.
“It’s a great tragedy to witness the impact on Somalia’s most vulnerable. They are the least responsible for the conflict and the climate crisis, but are the hardest hit.”
More than 3.8 million people are now displaced in Somalia, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation where some 6.7 million people are struggling to meet their food needs. More than half a million Somali children are severely malnourished.
Yet, aid agencies have so far received only 22 percent of the resources required to deliver much-needed assistance this year. The Humanitarian Response Plan for 2023 calls for $2.6 billion to meet the critical needs of the people living in Somalia.
“We urge the international donors to step up funding to better protect those who are most likely to bear the brunt of the current crisis, otherwise we will never see the end of this unfolding human tragedy,” added Guisse.
The Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN) is a UNHCR-led project implemented in partnership with NRC, which reports on displacement and protection risks in Somalia.
According to PRMN data spanning over 17 years, this is the third time that Somalia has crossed the one million mark for IDPs in a single year. The previous two recorded times were in 2020 and 2022. Unlike previous years, however, this crisis is occurring earlier in the year, with 1 million displaced by May as opposed to August/September.
On Tuesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned in a separate statement that three months into the conflict in the area of Laascaanood (Las Anod), in the breakaway Somaliland republic, more families continue to flee the fighting. Close to 200,000 people have been displaced from the Sool region due to conflict and insecurity this year, according to data from the Protection and Return Monitoring Network.
Tens of thousands Somalis, mainly women and children, have fled to Ethiopia to escape violent clashes and insecurity in the area of Laascaanood, the capital of the Sool region. In 2007, Somaliland captured the Sool region from Somalia’s semiautonomous Puntland region and the two sides have been involved in deadly disputes since then.
Since the onset of the fighting in early February, the ICRC and the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) have carried out humanitarian assistance in the Sool region while calling for restraint and unimpeded humanitarian access to people affected by the clashes.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it is closely monitoring the humanitarian consequences of the fighting, particularly incidents of harm caused to civilians and civilian property, including healthcare personnel and facilities, and continues to discuss concerns with the relevant parties.
Further information
Full text: Somalia: Over 1 million people internally displaced in Somalia in record time, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), joint press release, published May 24, 2023
https://www.nrc.no/news/2023/may/somalia-1-million-displaced/
Full text: Operational Update 2: Fighting in Las Anod continues to drive displacement, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), published May 23, 2023 https://blogs.icrc.org/somalia/2023/05/23/operational-update-2-fighting-in-las-anod-continues-to-drive-displacement/