Somali refugees wait to cross over to Yemen (Local)

SANA'A* July 29 ? Amid news of killings* displacements and violence trickling out of Somalia* UNHCR reports that Yemen could be the destination for some 12*000 Somalis crammed into temporary shelter in Bossaso* on the southern Somali coast.Over 200*000 Somalis have fled the fighting in Mogadishu and central Somalia since fresh violence erupted in May this year. The refugees have fled conflict that escalated after an offensive led by the Al-Shabab and Hisb-ul-Islam militia against government forces.The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has termed this the biggest exodus resulting from the conflict since the Ethiopian intervention two years ago.About 12*000 have fled and plan to pay smugglers for a boat ride from northern Somalia to Yemen when sea conditions are calmer in September* said a UNHCR spokesperson. They hope to join the almost 30*000 people that have made the potentially deadly journey across the Gulf of Aden this year alone. The UNHCR and its aid partners are working "to convince people not to get on those very dangerous smugglers' boats.""If you look at the figure from last year* after Ramadan we had much bigger numbers*" UNHCR Representative in Yemen* Claire Bourgeois said. "The UNHCR has a contingency plan that we will activate in case these refugees decide to enter Yemen* and that plan does include an additional appeal for funds."Many of those who cross the Gulf of Aden decide to move on to Yemen's neighbors Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in pursuit of better economic opportunities.The trip to Yemen is a risk that Somalis have been taking for years. Last year* more than 50*000 new arrivals reached Yemen's shores* a 70 percent increase from 2007.When Somali migrants land on shore not only are they granted refugee status automatically* but they are taken to reception centers where they are registered and nursed to health for a few days with the assistance of the UNHCR and its partners. "At the moment we are in close contact with our headquarters to determine how we will move forward*" Bourgeois said. This comes as Yemen steps up efforts to create a government database by registering all Somali refugees in the country. The registration process plans to have six permanent registration centers across the country. A looming threatSpeaking to Xihua Qamar Aden Ali* Somali Health Minister said* "We know of no case of the A/H1N1 flu in the country but we worry about the possibility of the spread of the disease because of the fact that cases of the disease were found in neighboring countries with whom we have pervious borders." The Somali Health Minister appealed to the international community and WHO for assistance in preventing the occurrence of the flu whose presence in the country is not yet known. "We lack the technical capability to diagnose the disease and the necessary drugs to treat it. So we call upon the international community particularly the World Health Organization to give us the necessary drugs and technical advice and training for our health staff*" he said.Currently Yemen does not check the refugees arriving at its shores for H1N1."We [UNHCR] had a discussion with the government and we made a proposal so that UNHCR is ready to collaborate with the Yemeni government and the World Health Organization to determine how responsibility can be shared on this issue*" Bourgeois saidAccording to the UNHCR* there were 152*693 refugees assisted by UNHCR in Yemen* of whom 143*998 were Somalis* 2*919 Ethiopians and 672 Eritreans.The Yemeni government says there were 750*000 Somali refugees in the country.Bolstering a fragile governmentThe American Secretary of State* Hillary Clinton* is to meet Sheikh Sharif Ahmed* the president of Somalia?s Transitional Federal Government* during her visit to East Africa next week* according to the US State Department.Clinton will become the highest-ranking US official to meet the Somali president indicating the Obama administration's strong wish to bolster the fragile government in the Horn of Africa country.The growing insurgency in Somalia is primarily a sign of the absence of an effective government with Sheikh Sharif* struggling to take control from hard-line opposition fighters bent on overthrowing his western-backed government.The UNHCR said there was no sign that Yemen was buckling under the strain of the new arrivals. It also stressed that continued assistance was necessary to avoid tipping the scale....

المزيد...