Main Developments
Following a UN multi-agency mission to Mogadishu on 16 January, the second in a week, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia has stressed that the international aid community must take advantage of the momentum now existing in Somalia to re-engage at the earliest opportunity in south/central and, particularly, in Mogadishu. After consultations with TFG authorities and civil society in Mogadishu, priority areas of intervention have been identified – support for law and order/security, education, livelihood support, relocation of and assistance to IDPs, and institutional capacity building. There is a need to begin high-impact projects in these areas quickly, in order to make immediate visible changes in peoples’ lives and to support stabilization and prevent any power vacuum from spreading.
As of 18 January, 2007, a total of 62 suspected human cases of RVF (including 32 deaths) have been reported from southern Somalia. Three samples from suspected human cases flown to Kenya from Lower Juba over the last week tested negative by the CDC KEMRI lab. Efforts are now being made to collect new samples as well as to increase ongoing health education activities. Training of medical officers in the field is being conducted to increase surveillance coverage and to enhance case management, prevention and control capacity. Plans to field a medical mission to Kismayo to examine patients and take blood samples for analysis have so far been unsuccessful due to a lack of assurance for the safe passage of the team.
Displacement
There have been reports of Somali refugees, mainly from Bay and Bakool regions, having crossed into Ethiopia near the towns of Ferfer, Mustahil, and Kelafo. While numbers have not yet been confirmed, current estimates are of approximately 200 families at Ferfer, 60 families at Mustahil and 714 families at Kelafo. The refugees are said to be mainly women, children and elderly, traveling without animals. Cholera is reportedly present in the area and there is a need of medicine, as well as food and shelter. Many of the refugees have settled among the local population and are receiving some assistance from them, as well as obtaining casual work in the villages. There are no international agencies present in the area and it is not clear to what extent the local authorities are willing to assist.
Access and Response
Access to Jowhar (Middle Shabelle) and Kismayo (Lower Juba) continues to be seriously hampered. At Jowhar airstrip, local security remains inadequate for the airstrip to be operational, while in Kismayo, ongoing military operations have kept the airstrip off limits for humanitarian flights. In Lower Juba, some of the greatest humanitarian needs are concentrated; flood response in the region was only just commencing when conflict broke out, and flood-affected people in the region have yet to receive adequate emergency assistance. Meanwhile, Baidoa airstrip is now open for UN cargo and passengers. Smaller aircraft (e.g. caravan) are able to land at Conoko (Garowe, Puntland), and UNCAS is resuming passenger flights as of tomorrow. Minor repairs are taking place at Conoko to allow for larger aircraft to land.
Assessments of IDP settlements in Galkayo have been largely completed and response is ongoing. Two flights arrived in Galkayo this week containing UNICEF NFIs and one more flight is expected. Islamic Relief is hiring staff, to be trained by UNHCR, to conduct shelter to shelter verifications, gather information and set up mechanisms for the distribution of NFIs.
Overland border crossing between Kenya and Somalia remains seriously problematic. Humanitarian trucks carrying food and NFIs for Dhobley and Afmadow have been able to cross the border at Liboi over the last few days. However, both El Wak and Mandera remain closed, with approximately 40 trucks now stuck on the Somali side of the border unable to move back into Kenya to collect food for Gedo. At Mandera, two trucks carrying fuel bound for Wajid for internal humanitarian flights in Somalia are unable to cross. This is of concern, as it is expected that the remaining jet fuel in Wajid will run out within the next two days. Efforts to get the restriction eased to enable humanitarian convoys to cross the border have until now been unsuccessful.
Although overland transport has broadly resumed in many areas, the current lack of security in certain parts of south/central Somalia is causing concern amongst transporters, particularly those attempting to pass through areas in which there is a power vacuum and/or ongoing conflict.
