Persistent humanitarian crisis grips Somalia as displacement woes continue

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Persistent humanitarian crisis grips Somalia as displacement woes continue

MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – Despite assertions from humanitarian organizations that the number of people requiring assistance has decreased in 2024, the situation remains dire for displaced populations in Somalia.

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Displaced women in a camp on the outskirt of Mogadishu.

MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – Despite assertions from humanitarian organizations that the number of people requiring assistance has decreased in 2024, the situation remains dire for displaced populations in Somalia.

Halima Mohamed, a mother of seven, fled her hometown of Qoryooley in Lower Shabelle after an attack by the militant group Al-Shabaab devastated the agricultural-rich area. Climate shocks exacerbated the situation, with the Shabelle River’s dwindling water flows leaving local farmers in distress.

"When the river started to dry up, the farmland became barren. I tried working by washing clothes, but it wasn’t enough to feed my seven children,” said Halima.

In February 2020, Al-Shabaab’s attack on army bases in Qoryooley led to retaliatory shelling by African Union forces and the Somali army, forcing locals to flee the town. Civilians found themselves unable to return as the attacks persisted, with mortar rounds hitting residential areas.

"They would fire mortar rounds, sometimes hitting residential areas. My neighbor was killed. I fled to Mogadishu,” Halima added.

Left without income and with dwindling aid upon arrival, Halima and her children now beg on the streets of Mogadishu daily, struggling to secure enough to feed their large family.

Regarding a recent UN report citing a decrease in the number of people needing food assistance in Somalia, Halima expressed disbelief: "I have never seen any aid since I came here. The NGOs never saw us.”

In late 2022, UN humanitarian agencies attempted to declare famine in Somalia, but President Hassan Sheikh’s administration, seeking to divert support to its corrupt regime, blocked the proposal, leaving millions of displaced families without adequate aid.

Abduirahman Muhmed, a political analyst in Mogadishu, lamented the politicization of humanitarian aid: "It is sad when politics intervene in humanitarian aid. Hassan Sheikh was trying to sell a fake image, diverting aid from needy populations.”

As the humanitarian crisis persisted into December, millions remained in need of assistance. The Protection and Returns Monitoring Network recorded 86,000 internal displacements in December alone, primarily due to flooding, bringing the total number of displacements in 2023 to 2.9 million.

Compounding the crisis is the ongoing insecurity in Somalia, with clashes between Al-Shabaab and government forces exacerbating the situation.