Somali Civilians Flee Laascaanood Clashes, Seeking Refuge in Ethiopia- UNHCR

Over 60,000 Somalis, mostly women and children, have sought refuge in Ethiopia’s Somali region in the past few weeks to escape the clashes and insecurity in the city of Laascaanood, in Sool region.

Approximately half of them arrived just this week. Desperate and traumatized, they have had to sell whatever possessions they had in order to pay for transportation to reach safety. Many of them have lost family members in the violence or become separated during the journey.

The refugees have set up temporary homes across 13 locations in the towns of Bookh, Galhamur, and Danot Woredasiin in the Doolo zone in Ethiopia’s Somali region.
Though these areas have already been badly affected by five consecutive failed rainy seasons and the subsequent drought, the local communities have generously welcomed the refugees and shared what little resources they have.

Despite this, over 1,000 new arrivals continue to flood in each day. With little other choice, many of the families have found shelter in schools and other public buildings, while some have been forced to sleep outside.

They are in desperate need of food and nutrition, water, sanitation facilities, and specialized support for those with specific needs.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is working with the Ethiopian Government’s Refugees and Returnees Services (RRS) and regional authorities, together with UN and NGO partners, to set up temporary reception centers and provide immediate life-saving aid.

To date, relief items such as blankets, jerry cans, buckets, kitchen sets, plastic sheets, and mosquito nets have been distributed to over 1,000 vulnerable families, and UNHCR is aiming to reach another 9,000 families in the coming days.

In addition, inside Somalia, over 185,000 people have been displaced from Laascaanood town and its surrounding areas since early February.

According to local authorities, displaced families have settled in 66 sites within Somaliland while others have crossed into the Puntland region in northern Somalia and other villages bordering Ethiopia. UNHCR, through its partners, is responding to these internally displaced with relief items for 3,000 families and cash assistance for 42,000 people for the next three months, once the security situation allows access to the area.

UNHCR is calling on all parties to ensure the safety of civilians and for additional funding support to meet the needs of these newly displaced.