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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Jul 23 2010 - 14:21:02 EDT
Somali refugees harassed after al Shabaab bombs-U.N.
Fri Jul 23, 2010 10:36am GMT
* Somalis being harassed, rounded up in Kenya, Puntland
* UNHCR calls for Puntland to halt forced returns
* Rise in cholera cases in Mogadishu, WHO warns
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, July 23 (Reuters) - Somali refugees are being harassed and rounded
up in Kenya and the semi-autonomous enclave of Puntland in the wake of
deadly bombings by al Shabaab Islamist rebels in Uganda, the United Nations
said on Friday.
Authorities in Puntland sent back more than 900 displaced Somalis to the
conflict zone in central Somalia this week, but so far Kenya has not
deported Somalis who can prove they have refugee status, the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees said.
"Against the backdrop of recent terrorist attacks, we have noted growing
numbers of incidents of xenophobia, round ups and deportations of displaced
Somalis," Melissa Fleming, UNHCR spokeswoman, told a news briefing in
Geneva.
"We are calling on the Puntland authorities to halt these push-backs," she
added.
People fleeing fighting in southern and central Somalia need international
protection and forced returns to that part of the country place their lives
at "grave risk", according to UNHCR.
"We fear those who have fled for very good reason, young men in the age
group between 18 and 25, are very often targeted for recruitment by al
Shabaab," Fleming said.
Al Shabaab, a hardline Islamist rebel group with links to al Qaeda, controls
much of southern Somalia, bordering northeastern Kenya, and is fighting to
topple the Western-backed government in the Horn of Africa nation.
Somali Islamist insurgents have killed two African Union peacekeepers in
fighting in the capital, Mogadishu, a spokesman for the AU peacekeeping
force said on Friday [ID:nLDE66MORP].
Coordinated bomb attacks on the Ugandan capital Kampala this month were the
first claimed by Somali rebels outside Somalia, although there have been
fears for some time in Kenya that the violence could spill over their long
and porous border.
"We are receiving frequent reports of verbal and physical harassment in
(Somali) communities as well as arrests, arbitrary detention, extortion and
even push-backs of Somali refugees," Fleming said, referring to the
situation in the region.
In the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, nearly 2,000 Somalis have approached UNHCR
offices in the past week to register as refugees, she said.
"So there is this clear desire by Somalis to make sure they have the right
documents so they can prove they have refugee status," she said. "All
indications are that once they can prove they are refugees, they are being
released (in Kenya)."
DIRE CONDITIONS
Conditions in Somalia are increasingly dire, with 18,000 people fleeing
violence this month alone, according to UNHCR. At least 112 people were
killed and 250 wounded in the period.
More than 1.4 million are displaced within Somalia and more than 600,000
Somali refugees live in neighbouring countries.
"As a result of the displacement, hospitals in Mogadishu are overburdened at
the moment and unable effectively to cope with an increased number of trauma
cases being recorded," World Health Organisation spokesman Paul Garwood told
reporters.
Two Mogadishu hospitals have recorded nearly 200 cases of cholera in the
past two weeks, he said. The deadly disease is spread by contaminated food
or water and poor hygiene.
"There are obvious concerns about sanitation and access to clean, safe water
and these cases provide an extra burden on the few available health
facilities which are under great strain," Garwood told Reuters. (Editing by
Jonathan Lynn)
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