CLASHES IN SOMALIA FORCING MORE REFUGEES ACROSS GULF OF ADEN – UN AGENCY

Fleeing escalating violence in the capital, Mogadishu, and central Somalia, thousands of Somalis are making the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden to begin new lives in Yemen, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

Some 12,000 Somalis – out of 232,000 people who have escaped clashes that broke out in early May between Government forces and the Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam militant groups – have reached the northern port town of Bossaso since early May, and most of them are hoping that smugglers will transport them to Yemen.

Partners of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report that Bossaso is already very crowded and that smugglers are already collecting cash from refugees trying to reach Yemen.

"As the sea is already very dangerous because of the prevailing conditions, the majority of the people are expected to camp in Bossaso and wait for September, when winds are more favourable," UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva today.

Last year, over 50,000 people reached Yemen's shores, marking a 70 per cent increase from 2007. During the first half of 2009 alone, more than 30,000 people have made the "dangerous journey" to Yemen, Mr. Redmond noted.

In 2008, over 1,000 people died, either being thrown overboard or forced to disembark from boats too far from the shore by smugglers, as they attempted to make landfall in Yemen, he added.

So far this year, nearly 300 people have lost their lives or are missing as they tried to cross the Gulf of Aden, according to UNHCR.

"The smuggling phenomenon places increasing strain on Yemen's limited resources and poses more challenges to the Government's efforts to balance its obligations under international law with the need to protect the country from illegal entry," Mr. Redmond said.

New arrivals are picked up by UNHCR's partner agencies and taken to reception centres where they are registered and given food, shelter, medical assistance and other basic assistance while they recover from their journey.

"The Government of Yemen recognizes Somalis as refugees on a prima facie basis," the agency's spokesperson said, adding that the refugees can choose to shelter at the Kharaz camp two hours west of the Yemeni capital, Aden, where they receive legal and physical protection and help.

Already 13,000 refugees, mostly from Somalia, have made Kharaz camp home temporarily, while tens of thousands of other refugees have chosen to stay in urban areas around Yemen.

Somalia is one of the world's biggest refugee-producing countries, and UNHCR is providing protection and assistance to nearly 500,000 Somali refugees in nearby countries while also reaching out to 1.3 million people displaced within Somalia.
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FORMER SOMALI ARMY OFFICERS TO MEET FOR UN-BACKED TALKS IN US CAPITAL

FORMER SOMALI ARMY OFFICERS TO MEET FOR UN-BACKED TALKS IN US CAPITAL
New York, Jun 3 2009 12:00PM
Former senior army officers from Somalia are slated to meet in Washington D.C. tomorrow for United Nations-backed talks aimed at bolstering security institutions in the strife-torn nation.

The two-day gathering, arranged with the support of the Somali Ministry of Defence and the UN Political Office for Somalia (<"http://www.un-somalia.org/">UNPOS), will look at the structure of Somalia's military before the collapse of the State and the best ways to address the country's current and future security needs.

"We are expecting this to be the first of several fruitful meetings," <"http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/LSGZ-7SND4K?OpenDocument&query=washington,%20dc&rc=1">said Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia.

Stressing that this is a "great opportunity for Somalis to find within their past some solutions for the future," Mr. Ould-Abdallah noted that the former Somali military officers participating in this meeting are respected for their experience in training soldiers from other African nations.

UNPOS said in a press release that the meeting will serve to prepare for follow-up discussions with Somalia's top military officials, expected to take place in late July, as part of the Government's commitment under the Djibouti Agreement to strengthen its defence forces.

Last week Mr. Ould-Abdallah told a news conference in New York that after visiting the Horn of Africa nation, it was "very sad to see how the city [Mogadishu], the population and the country are taken hostage by those who have been fighting and destroying their country over the last 20 years."

During his visit, he had spoken with Government leaders about the latest developments there, including the breakout of intense fighting in early May between Government troops and the opposition Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups. He said that up to 75,000 people, who had fled the country and returned earlier this year, had fled again because of the renewed fighting.
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SITUATION IN SOMALIA DIFFICULT, BUT NOT ‘HOPELESS,’ SAYS TOP UN ENVOY

SITUATION IN SOMALIA DIFFICULT, BUT NOT 'HOPELESS,' SAYS TOP UN ENVOY
New York, May 22 2009 5:00PM
The top United Nations envoy to Somalia today characterized the situation in the Horn of Africa nation as "very difficult … but not hopeless," as news media reported fresh outbreaks of deadly clashes in the capital, Mogadishu.

Speaking to UN Radio from his headquarters in Nairobi, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, said that among the tragedies, there was the fact that many of the people fleeing the capital were escaping violence for at least the second time.

They had returned to Mogadishu after the signing of the UN-backed peace agreements in Djibouti in January, only to be sent running for their lives again after intense fighting between Government troops and the opposition Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups began in Mogadishu on 8 May.

Most of the uprooted have headed to makeshift camps south-west of the capital that already are home to some 400,000 people.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home">UNHCR) reported today that some 46,000 people had fled the capital since the fighting broke out earlier this month.

"I hope they will return soon with the betterment of the situation," Mr. Ould-Abdallah said today.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated that over 50,000 severely malnourished children throughout the country will be without supplies because of the fighting in Mogadishu and the 17 May looting of a UNICEF office in the town of Jowhar, 90 kilometres north of the capital, which serves as the main hub for the provision of services and supplies to the whole of the central and southern regions of Somalia.

Mr. Ould-Abdallah said today that he does not believe the current situation in Somalia is hopeless.

"It is a long-running conflict," he said, noting that "the tragedy in Somalia is the central government has been very weak."

With the Djibouti peace agreement, the Representative said, "we have the beginning of a credible [government]. We have to help it be functional."

Acknowledging that it is a "tough job," he underscored that the situation is "not hopeless – and it may in fact work!"

<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF has reported that the looting of its Jowhar office has resulted in the destruction of humanitarian supplies, assets and equipment, including vaccine cold storage, rendering thousands of doses of measles, polio and other vaccines for Somali children unusable.

However, UNICEF and UNHCR said today that they plan to go ahead with a major distribution of non-food items in the coming days, targeting more than 100,000 displaced people.

The UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/">WFP) reported that dry food distributions had not been adversely affected as of Thursday, with 14 out of 16 distribution points in Mogadishu serving over 80,000 cooked meals on a daily basis.
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FRAGILE SOMALI PEACE PROCESS NEEDS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT – UN OFFICIALS

FRAGILE SOMALI PEACE PROCESS NEEDS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT – UN OFFICIALS
New York, May 13 2009 3:00PM
Top United Nations officials today urged the international community to continue to nurture the fragile peace process in Somalia and help the country consolidate its hard-won gains, in spite of recent threats to the new Government.

"We meet today at a critical moment for Somalia," Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe told a meeting of the Security Council. "One in which the response of the international community to an embattled Government's pleas for help could make the difference between consolidating hopeful steps toward peace and a descent once again into anarchy and hopelessness."

Mr. Pascoe said the situation remains "quite fragile" following the attempted coup on 9 May by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and Al Shabaab fighters, and noted that the latest surge in violence is clearly a response to the Government's strategy to reach out and build a critical mass in support of peace.

In a news release issued today, UN envoy for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah described the attackers as extremists who know do not have the support of the Somali people, and accused them of bringing in foreign fighters who have no connections to the situation in Somalia.

Mr. Pascoe said that despite heavy fighting, recent months have witnessed newfound reasons for hope, and the Somali people have the best chance in two decades to end their suffering and move towards a better and more stable future.

"The Government's efforts at building a consensus for reconciliation are slowly gaining ground, despite the serious challenge by well-funded radicals," he stated. "The international community must make a vital investment at this time to nurture the fragile peace process, help the Government establish its authority throughout the country and build its security and rule of law institutions.

"Now is not the time to analyze and discuss, but to provide concrete help while it can still make a difference," said Mr. Pascoe.

In January, the Council signalled its intention to establish a UN force, when conditions permit, in the Horn of Africa country. It also requested Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to establish a trust fund to help support the existing African Union (AU) force, known as AMISOM, and to facilitate a logistical support package, training and equipment, in anticipation of its eventual absorption into a UN force.

UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy informed the Council about the three-phase approach Mr. Ban has outlined for UN engagement in Somalia, saying that the incremental approach is the right strategy for the country at the present time. It is important to emphasize, he added, that this is a flexible strategy and not one based on a rigid timetable.

He said important benchmarks for establishing a UN force include implementation of a credible ceasefire, consent to the deployment by all the major Somali actors on the ground, and adequate pledges of troops and required military capacities by Member States.

"It remains the assessment of the Secretary-General that deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation at this stage, in the absence of these conditions, would be a high-risk option, and that an ill-timed mission would fail."

Susana Malcorra, Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, told the Council that the gains achieved in building peace by the Somali leaders and the international community must not be lost.

The current situation on the ground evidences that the Somalia's nascent and yet fragile peace process must be protected. Among other things, she said, the disbursement of donor pledges must be expedited.
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