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SOMALIA / AFGOOYE CORRIDOR
STORY: SOMALIA / AFGOOYE COORIDOR
TRT: 2.51
SOURCE: OCHA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 24 MAY, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
1. Med shot, soldier holding a gun
2. Various shots, AU casspirs driving in Mogadishu, along displaced people’s camps, mini-busses/trucks loaded with IDP new arrivals and their belongings
3. Various shots, Kilian Kleinschmidt, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia in IDP camp
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Kilian Kleinschmidt Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia:
“The concern remains of course the protection of civilians and the respect for the humanitarian situation by all the parties and the fact that civilians should remain unharmed. But of course, also now the concern is ‘where do the people go, who are coming to Mogadishu city?’ As far as we see, most of them seem to go into the city centre, meaning they have relatives, they have relations…but again, we need to verify that all the assistance is given to those who need it.”
5. Med shot, Kilian Kleinschmidt walking in casualties department of one of the main hospitals in Mogadishu
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Kilian Kleinschmidt Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia:
“We have received or we have heard about other civilians who have been injured by mortars or other straight bullets, but that we cannot verify at this moment but I have seen one woman.”
7. Various shots, Aisha Mohamed Adan, mother of four, shot in the Afgooye corridor and now in a hospital in Mogadishu
8. Close up, Kilian Kleinschmidt looking at Aisha Mohamed Adan
9. Various shots, patients in the casualties ward of the hospital
10. Various shots, IDPs in camps in Mogadishu
11. Med shot, malnourished displaced woman coughing
12. Close up, Salima Hussein Ahmed, malnourished displaced woman in the camp
13. Wide shot, Salima
14. Wide shot, Kilian Kleinschmidt looking at Salima Hussein Ahmed in the camp and asking about her conditions
15. Various shots, Salima Hussein Ahmed in a UN supported hospital in Mogadishu
The African Union Mission For Somalia (AMISOM) today (25 May) announced that its troops have secured the Somali town of Afgooye, a stronghold of the Al-Shabaab strategically located 30km from the capital, Mogadishu.
As military forces made their way into the Afgooye corridor this week, the United Nations top humanitarian official for the east African country, Mark Bowden called for efforts to be made to minimize the impact of conflict on civilians.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has prepared for likelihood that the upsurge in conflict in the corridor could lead to a further displacement of internally displaced people (IDPs) into Mogadishu and surrounding areas.
Over the last three days, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has recorded approximately 6,200 displacements from Afgooye into Mogadishu.
AMISOM’s joint military operation with the Somali National Army, code-named ‘Operation Free Shabelle’, aims to secure the Afgooye corridor, home to the world’s largest concentration of internally displaced people. Operations are still ongoing to secure the market town of Elasha Biyaha. Harabsca, a trading centre located 26km from Mogadishu, has also been secured.
UNHCR estimates the current number of IDPs in the capital at almost 200,000.
SOUNDBITE (English) Kilian Kleinschmidt Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia:
“The concern remains of course the protection of civilians and the respect for the humanitarian situation by all the parties and the fact that civilians should remain unharmed. But of course, also now the concern is ‘where do the people go, who are coming to Mogadishu city?’ As far as we see, most of them seem to go into the city centre, meaning they have relatives, they have relations…but again, we need to verify that all the assistance is given to those who need it.”
At least one casualty has been reported in hospitals in Mogadishu.
SOUNDBITE (English) Kilian Kleinschmidt Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia:
“We have received or we have heard about other civilians who have been injured by mortars or other stray bullets, but that we cannot verify at this moment….but I have seen one woman.”
Aisha Mohamed Adan, mother of four, was shot in the neck while in her house in a settlement in the Afgooye corridor. She is now in one of the hospitals in Mogadishu.
The new arrivals in Mogadishu are joining the displaced living in appalling conditions in hundreds of settlements. Malnutrition rates are amongst the highest in the world.
Salima Hussein Ahmed is one of the malnourished. She lay for days in front of her makeshift shelter in Marino displaced people’s settlement in Mogadishu. She would have died if the UN had not brought her to a nearby hospital.
AMISOM says that leaders of the Al-Shabaab, an Al Qaeda-affiliated terror group, are believed to have fled Afgooye, which was their main base in the region and where they were known to have been extorting revenues from farmers, traders and pastoralists.
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