Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) - "Our operations in Mogadishu encounter several obstacles, but we do everything we can to bring them to an end. In other areas the situation is easier", says Suzanna Tkalec to Fides, of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), who assists His Exc. Mgr. Giorgio Bertin, Bishop of Djibouti and Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu, as President of Caritas Somalia, in managing the Somali refugees emergency. The responsible of Caritas is in Djibouti to conduct an assessment on the status of Somali refugees welcomed in the country.
"In Djibouti - Mrs. Tkalec explains to Fides - the number of Somali refugees has risen to 10,000 units, rising from 8,000 to 18,000, they are welcomed in Ali Addeh camp. To relieve the Ali Addeh camp, the Djibouti government is planning to reopen the refugee camp of Holl-Holl, which was closed in 2006. " Somali refugees are spread out between Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The largest presence is Kenyan, while a part of the Somalis who have fled to Ethiopia is apparently returning home.
The Nutritional Security Analysis Unit of the United Nations has updated forecasts on the food crisis. In particular, says the United Nations, "in the Bay region in southern Somalia, the level of acute malnutrition and mortality rates have surpassed the threshold of famine". So far, thousands and thousands of food crisis victims in the region and "more than half of these are children", the UN report underlines. The southern region of Bay, is a stronghold of Islamic militias of the Shebab and among the areas most affected by drought and famine. The situation is particularly serious because of the restrictions imposed by the militia in the distribution of aid by international agencies. According to the UN report "4 million people suffer in Somalia, with 750 thousand who risk dying over the next 4 months in the absence of an adequate response".
The humanitarian crisis is most acute in central and southern Somalia, while in Somaliland and Puntland, (northern-central region with autonomous administrations) the emergency is more limited because the humanitarian organizations are able to operate more safely compared to the rest of Somalia . (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 06/09/2011)
