UNHCR Somalia: Displacements dashboard | Protection & Return Monitoring Network (PRMN), June 2017
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- Somalia
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- UNHCR
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73,000 total displacements in month
25% related to conflict or insecurity
HIGHLIGHTS
Over 73,000 internal displacements were identified in June 2017 by the UNHCR-led PRMN. The majority of displacements (52,000*) were attributable to drought compared to 46,000 in May (April - 142,000, March - 293,000). The trend suggests that new displacements to urban areas are ongoing; with below average Gu rains across much of Somalia and improved road conditions allowing movement, the pace of displacements to urban areas as a coping mechanism or in order to access humanitarian assistance remains high.
Drought-driven displacements are taking place within a context that remains marked by conflict, as demonstrated by the approximately 18,000 displacements during the month directly attributed to conflict and insecurity, following a significant spike in May.
The majority of these displacements are attributable to ongoing tensions and outbreaks of localized conflict in Lower Shabelle region leading to 13,000 displaced individuals, the majority of whom arrived in Banadir (Mogadishu) region. Tensions in Belet Weyne, Hiraan, amid fears of inter-clan violence, in part related to disputes over grazing land, led to the displacement of some 3,000 individuals while airstrikes around Baardheere, Gedo resulted in the displacement of some 1,200 individuals.
These examples highlight the complexity of displacement trends and triggers in Somalia and the interlinkages between them; where phenomena such as drought place pressure on resources in turn leading to conflict.
Not captured in the total displacement figure but important to note are IDP returns. These continued in the month of June and numbered some 16,000 – double the number identified in May. Substantially all of the returns identified concerned persons displaced in Baidoa returning to their areas of origin within the Bay region itself.