A/HRC/13/65
page 12
attack took place in the meeting hall of Shamo Hotel in Mogadishu, where hundreds of people
were attending a graduation ceremony, only the second in 20 years. The independent expert
strongly condemned the attack in a public statement.1
42. At least 30 people were killed and 80 injured in Somalia following violent confrontations
between various factions from 29 December 2009 to 5 January 2010. Six people were reported to
have died, while 50 more were injured, when Al-Shabaab allegedly fired mortars at the
presidential palace in Mogadishu on 1 February 2010. On 30 January 2010, at least 19 people,
among them women and children, were reported killed when Al-Shabaab attacked Government
and African Union bases in Mogadishu.
C. Humanitarian situation
43. The humanitarian situation in Somalia continues to be severely affected by the ongoing
fighting, particularly in the south-central region. Factors which continue to drive the protracted
and complex humanitarian emergency in Somalia include the following:
• Armed conflict in the south-central region which creates generalized insecurity and
conditions that increase criminality and protection concerns, all of which lead to a
reduction in access for humanitarian actors. Eight humanitarian aid workers were killed
between January and October 2009 and ten are still being held captive in Somalia.
• Significant internal population displacement, particularly in and around Mogadishu and
along the Afgoye Corridor, owing to conflict, with increasing displacement due to
drought and loss of livelihood in other parts of Somalia. As a result of the major attack
launched in May 2009 by hard-line armed groups, the Afgoye Corridor has become
home to an estimated 360,000 IDPs. It is reported that over 150,000 of these IDPs have
arrived in the corridor since May 2009, mainly fleeing Mogadishu-based violence.
• An economic crisis prompted by a devalued currency, continuing high food prices and a
sharp decrease in remittances from the diaspora; and
• A severe drought in parts of the south-central region that expanded northward into
Somaliland and Puntland, affecting a large number of pastoral and agro-pastoral
communities.
44. On 2 February 2010, UNHCR reported a sharp rise in violence in Somalia in January
which regrettably left nearly 260 civilians dead, in addition to uprooting over 80,000 and causing
widespread destruction. According to UNHCR, many IDPs are sleeping in the open with little
shelter and water. There are growing concerns about health conditions of particularly vulnerable
groups such as children, women and the elderly.2
1
See http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=9664
&LangID=e.
2
See summary available from http://www.unhcr.org/4b6819bc9.html.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents