UN voices deep concerns over forced displacement in Las’anod

They said they were coordinating an urgent humanitarian assessment to determine the number of people affected and their urgent needs in order to find temporary shelter, in collaboration with the Puntland administration.

News Keydmedia Online
5 October 2021

MOGADISHU, Somalia - UN and other local and international humanitarian agencies say they are "deeply saddened" by the arrests and forced displacement of more than 1,000 women and children by Somaliland from the town of Las Anod in the Sool region on 2nd and 3rd October.

The UN OCHA and Somali NGO Consortium said in a joint statement that they were coordinating an urgent humanitarian assessment to determine the number of people affected by the forceful eviction and their urgent needs in order to find temporary shelter in Galkayo, in collaboration with the Puntland.

“We are very concerned about reports of forced displacement planned in the coming days. We call on humanitarian agencies to provide and expedite emergency assistance, in collaboration with local authorities, to find a lasting solution, ”said a statement from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

In areas of Puntland such as the Nugal and Mudug regions, Somaliland deportees have been welcomed after their expulsion from Las Anod, and there are reports that Somaliland is planning to deport more people who hail from southern Somalia, especially Southwest state.

Finally, UNOCHA calls on Somaliland to exercise restraint and find a lasting solution that respects the rights and dignity of all the non-locals in Las'anod, who have lived there for the past 20 years after fleeing from the frequent droughts and conflict in their regions in the south of Somalia.

KEYDMEDIA English