Sunday, April 29, 2012
The world’s largest concentration of internally displaced persons (IDP) Is in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.
People have been forced to flee to the volatile capital due to ongoing clashes between the African Union Mission soldiers and the al-Shabaab militant group.
Halima Aden is one of many vulnerable elderly Somalis seeking refuge at the camps. She says she needs food, but is too weak to work for it.
70-year old Habiba Mohammed has been displaced from the Bay region in central Somalia and said she journeyed 20 days to seek refuge and safety at a camp. She lost children along the way and her husband is in a relative’s home recuperating from a limb he broke en route to Mogadishu.
Hashi Jimale is even less fortunate as he is a victim of a bullet wound to his leg. He says he cannot return to his house because Burundian forces have set-up camp there. The camp for IDPs is his only solace.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates 1.36 million Somalis are internally displaced, while neighboring countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Yemen currently shelter around 983,000 Somali refugees.