UN: More than 200 000 uprooted in Mogadishu violence

07 Jul 2009 11:25 - Staff Reporter

In two months of fighting in beleaguered Mogadishu in Somalia, at least 204 000 people have been forced to flee their homes, the UN says.

In two months of renewed fighting in beleaguered Mogadishu in Somalia, at least 204 000 people have been forced to flee their homes to refugee camps and other places to seek safety, according to data released on Tuesday from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

Intense fighting between insurgent groups and government forces started again in early May in Mogadishu, a country that has not had a strong central government in nearly two decades.

A recent note from the UNHCR said that the figures of the uprooted “likely include some [internally displaced people] who have been displaced more than once”.

The note also said that camps for the displaced in some areas, like the Kaaraan and Kax Shiqaal districts, were no longer entirely safe and were witnessing “intense fighting.”. This would likely cause the newly displaced to again move in search of refuge.—Sapa-dpa