SOMALIA: Thousands flee Beletweyne as clash fears mount
NAIROBI, 14 July 2008 (IRIN) - Fears of major clashes in the town of Beletweyne in central Somalia's Hiiraan Region have sparked a mass exodus from the town, sources there told IRIN on 14 July.
"Thousands of people have already left the town and many others are still leaving," Ga'al Hirsi Hooshow, the chairman of the Beletweyne Elders' Council, said.
He said forces of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in Beletweyne and Ethiopian troops now based at Janta Kundishe, 5km east of the town, "are both gearing up for a major battle".
The fear of fighting has led to the flight of people from the town to safer areas, Hooshow said, adding that local people, who were already suffering from drought and hyperinflation, were now having to deal with displacement.
"Many of them have left with very little and we are getting reports of people eating once a day or not at all," he said, adding that many of the displaced were sheltering under trees, with no protection from the elements.
A local journalist, who requested anonymity, told IRIN the districts of Hawo Tako and Kooshin, to the east of the town (and close to the Ethiopian lines), were almost deserted.
"They [population] are worried and afraid that they may get caught in the crossfire."
Most flee to nearby villages
A local humanitarian aid worker said most of those who could afford the cost of transport had fled to other towns in the region, such as Bulo Burte, 125km to the south, Jalalaqsi 180km away (also to the south), and Mahaas, 130km to the east.
However, he said, the majority had fled to outlying villages, some as close as 5-10km from Beletweyne, "because they could not afford the cost of transport".
"Our estimate is that roughly 60 percent of the population of Beletweyne was on the move," he said. Beletweyne, 340km north of the capital, Mogadishu, has an estimated population of 50,000.
The aid worker said the displaced were going to villages that were not equipped to accommodate large numbers of people. "Many of them have no shelter; food and water are scare and they don’t have access to any form of health care."
He said many of the displaced had previously fled violence in Mogadishu and had been living in camps in Beletweyne. "Sadly they are now on the move again."
“Fear-driven movement”
Aid agencies in the area had not anticipated large-scale population movements from Beletweyne. "We neither anticipated nor were ready for such a number of people moving. It is a fear-driven movement," he added.
Hooshow appealed to international aid agencies to come to the assistance of the displaced population. "These are people who had very little to begin with, now they have even less."
He said under the current conditions, "they may not last very long."
The journalist told IRIN that clan elders were negotiating with the two sides to try and avert fighting inside the town. "They have been holding a meeting with both sides but we don’t know what the outcome will be. Everybody is praying and hoping that a clash can be averted."
ah/cb
Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Refugees/IDPs
[ENDS]
Copyright © IRIN 2008
This material comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States.
IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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