By Abdi Muse
MOGADISHU (RBC) Despite improvements, humanitarian access remains tenuous in Somalia, United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Activities says.
On 5 May, an attack in Mogadishu killed at least 12 people. The incident led to the closure of main roads in the capital, hampering movement of aid workers and supplies, particularly to people in settlements.
Two attacks in Mogadishu on 14 April killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens of others. UNOCHA said a humanitarian mission to Beletweyne in Hiraan on 22 April was postponed after clan militia fired at a commercial plane as it approached Gaalkacyo airport in Mudug, from where the mission was scheduled to begin.
On 1 May, aid workers were temporarily relocated from Kismayo, Lower Juba, after mortars landed in the northern part of the Kismayo airport. While such attacks are often not directed at the aid workers, they hamper planning of humanitarian operations.
In the first four months of 2013, civilian casualties treated in the four main referral hospitals in Mogadishu decreased by 33 per cent, compared with the same period in 2012, according to the World Health Organization. Despite the improvement, more than 1,500 weapon-related injuries (including three children under five) were treated in these hospitals. 22 deaths were registered, although the number of deaths on site is unknown.
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