Conflict and drought displace 300,000 in Somalia so far this year‏

Over 300,000 people have been displaced due to drought and conflict in Somalia so far this year. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said insecurity is making it virtually impossible for humanitarians to provide aid in rural areas and is resulting in vulnerable people moving to overcrowded camps in urban areas for assistance.

“The crushing effect of drought has stripped rural communities of their crops, livestock and water sources, while armed conflict closes in on their homes. We are now likely to see 2.1 million Somali people suffering from hunger by December and into 2020,” said Victor Moses, Country Director for NRC. “This population needs aid. But when insecurity restricts us from delivering it, many people are forced to leave conflict-hit areas to seek it out.”

A total of 302,000 people were displaced between January and September this year according to the UNHCR and NRC-led Protection Return and Monitoring Network (PRMN). Conflict and insecurity accounted for more than half of all displacements (158,000) while drought (126,000) caused extreme hardship for many. ‘Flooding’ and ‘other factors’ were cited as drivers of displacement for more than 20,000 others.