OCHA – Humanitarian Access Reporting Period: 01 to 30 April 2011

MAIN ISSUES DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD 3. Restrictions on or interference with the passage of agencies, personnel and goods The security situation throughout Somalia remained volatile with fighting reported in and • 05 April, Al Shabaab Administration in parts of and regions including region instructed an INGO based in Jamaame, towns such as Garbahaarey and Dhoobleey that Middle Juba region, to use the airport ordinarily are free from the conflict. The conflict instead of the Jamaame airstrip to deliver medical continued to affect the civilian populations, supplies. As a result of this directive, the INGO has however, to a lesser degree than in March 2011. reportedly stopped receiving new in‐patients at the hospital in Jamaame and instructed the hospital Approximately 14,400 people were displaced in staff to use the limited available medicine for those April, throughout Somalia. Approximately 3,400 already admitted. It is possible that the INGO took were reported to have fled Mogadishu and 2,700 this decision because In 2010, a similar directive were reported to have moved to areas within the 1 was issued and the INGO used the Mogadishu city . airport and transported the supplies by road to Jamaame. However, the supplies were looted; and KEY CONSTRAINTS ON ACCESS therefore, it is possible that the INGO believed that the same would occur if it used the . OCHA Somalia and its partners monitor the following Acts of piracy off the Somalia coast continued 2 categories of access‐related issues : during the reporting period. In April 2011, a total of 1. Military operations and ongoing activities four successful and 18 attempted hijackings were 3 impeding humanitarian operations reported . However, none of the vessels were reported to be carrying humanitarian supplies. Throughout April, the security situation in south and parts of central Somalia remained tense because of PIRACY INCIDENTS fighting between AMISOM/TFG and Al Shabaab forces in Mogadishu and pro TFG and Al Shabaab forces in Gedo and Lower Juba regions. Fighting between TFG/AMISOM forces and insurgents remains a major concern for civilians and humanitarian actors in Mogadishu, Bele Xaawo, Luuq, Ceel Waaq in Gedo region and Dhoobleey in Lower Juba region. The ongoing hostilities cause restrictions on the movement of humanitarian personnel and operations in these regions. 2. Interference in the implementation of humanitarian activities 19 April, Al Shabaab forces arrested some medical staff 4. Violence against humanitarian personnel and at Hawa Abdi Hospital situated southwest of facilities Mogadishu. The staff were arrested in Wanla Wayne, Approximately 173 security incidents occurred in region, where they went to provide April 2011. Out of these, six incidents involved medical services to the local population. They were humanitarian personnel and facilities. arrested for allegedly implementing activities without No aid worker was killed and no abduction of the prior approval of the local administration. The staff humanitarian staff occurred during the reporting were later released. period. • 01 April, unknown attackers hurled a hand grenade at the UN compound in Medina district, 1 UNHCR sources Mogadishu. The grenade exploded outside the 2 The figures quoted are collected from various sources and compound. No casualties or damage to the represent OCHA’s most reliable estimates. However, under‐reporting and validation of events are chronic challenges; therefore, these figures should only be as considered indicative. 3 www.unosat.org & www.icc‐ccs.org

compound was reported. The motive of the • 23 April, Al Shabaab forces looted two local NGO attack is unknown. compounds in Dhuusamarreeb, Galgaduud region, and took the office assets. The motive is unknown. • 09 April, Al Shabaab forces in Kismayo town, Lower Juba region arrested a UN national polio • 30 April, Somaliland policemen in Berbera, eradication officer and some of his friends. Al Togdheer region, took over the WFP compound Shabaab told clan elders negotiating their claiming that it belonged to the police. The men release that they were involved in espionage. eventually pulled out on 5 May following an order The staff and his friends were released after by the Somaliland police commissioner. No looting staying in custody for three days. or damage to the compound was reported. • 10 April, Al Shabaab Administration in Waajid, SECURITY INCIDENTS4 region, arrested an INGO national staff for allegedly implementing humanitarian projects without the permission of the local administration. He was later released. • 11 April, unknown assailants threw a hand grenade at the UN compound in , Mogadishu. The grenade exploded outside the perimeter wall and no‐one was injured during the incident. The motive of the attackers is unknown. • 11 April, Al Shabaab officials including its security coordinator, Sheikh Omar, the Al Shabaab Governor DIRECT HUMANITARIAN INCIDENTS BY MONTH & for , and another unidentified person 5 REGION entered the UN compound in Baidoa town, Bay region and told the staff that a UN agency based in the compound was banned from operating in Al Shabaab controlled‐areas. The officials asked the staff to open the Agency’s office and took inventory of the agency’s assets and later left. On 19 April Al Shabaab returned and removed the inventoried assets. • 13 April, security forces physically assaulted two UN Civil Aviation Organization staff at the Bossaso airport for allegedly failing to stop a suspect who committed crimes in the region from boarding a flight to Gaalkacyo, region. The staff did not sustain injuries. • 17 April, Puntland police arrested a national NGO staff in Gaalkacyo, Mudug region in connection with 5. Attitude towards the humanitarian community security operations being conducted in the town. The staff was later released. Negative statements regarding the international community or aid workers were recorded during the • 18 April, Al Shabaab Administration in Belet Weyne, reporting period. Hiraan region, investigated a local UN staff for allegedly committing espionage in the region. The • 03 April the Governor of Togdheer region, staff was questioned and later released. No Somaliland, Mr Yasin Mahmud Abdi, held a humanitarian consequences were reported as a meeting and criticized the humanitarian result of this incident. community in the region. He said aid agencies

• 19 April armed clan militia carjacked an INGO‐hired 4 NSP, April 2011. Examples of incidents included in the graphic are: vehicle in Qardho town, Bari region, Puntland. The improvised explosive devise attacks, kidnapping, assassination and vehicle was later found with its roof removed. The piracy. Slight variations are due to the revision of incident’s definitions. motive of the carjacking is unknown. 5 NSP, April 2011. Examples of incidents included in the graphic are: robbery, intimidation, assassination and abductions.

2 OCHA Somalia, P.O. Box 28832, 00200 Nairobi, http://ochaonline.un.org/somalia April 2011 were not doing enough to respond to drought UN & NGO INTERNATIONAL crisis in the region. He said the Government STAFF would start monitoring aid activities in the NGO UN region. 120 • 03 April, a group of Somali clan elders met in 100 Mogadishu and agreed to boycott the high‐level 80 UN‐sponsored consultative meeting planned to be 60 held in Nairobi. They said the international community should let Somalis solve their problems 40 on their own. 20 • 03 April Internally Displaced People living at 0 Mogadishu’s former American Embassy in Medina South Central North East North district staged a demonstration to protest against SOURCE: NSP, UNDSS perceived inequalities in the distribution of humanitarian assistance. A similar demonstration

was staged the following day at the same venue. No consequences were reported as a result of these demonstrations.

• 04 April the Prime Minister of the TFG addressed the local media in Mogadishu and said that his ACCESS MAP Government would require the UN to relocate its offices from Nairobi to Mogadishu within 90 days. To generate the Access Map, eight coefficients are He said the absence of UN offices from Mogadishu analyzed to determine the degree of difficulty faced was not in the interest of the Somali people. To by humanitarian agencies working in Somalia. The date, no consequences were reported as a result of analysis provided is to the district level, and reflects this statement. the barriers, if any, imposed on humanitarian • 04 April Al Shabaab’s head of Zakat (alms) collection agencies. It is not a reflection of the physical in south central Somalia spoke to the media and presence of humanitarian partners or the volume of urged Somalis to reject aid agencies. Some farmers humanitarian assistance provided in each district. also spoke with the media and praised Al Shabaab Mogadishu: Fighting occurred in Mogadishu during for putting a stop to the WFP food aid in south the reporting period. The Fighting remained a major central Somalia stating that it had pushed them out security impediment limiting movement of of business. humanitarian actors. Incidents involving attacks on 6. Targeting civil society and media humanitarian compounds and negative statements and demonstrations against humanitarian There were no incidents targeting civil society and the community were reported in various parts of media during the reporting period. Mogadishu. South: Incidents involving humanitarian agencies

INTERNATIONAL STAFF PRESENCE including arrest of humanitarian staff and

impediments to humanitarian deliveries were Following is the geographic breakdown of UN and NGO reported in several locations of southern Somalia. staff presence in Somalia in April 2011, with respectively Central: Incidents involving humanitarian agencies 90 and 128 international staff throughout Somalia. including arrest of aid workers and the looting of one humanitarian compound occurred during the reporting period. Northeast: Incidents involving the killing of three local aid workers and a carjacking were reported. However, there were no significant changes in humanitarian access as a result of these incidents. Northwest: No major incidents involving humanitarian agencies or staff were reported.

3 OCHA Somalia, P.O. Box 28832, 00200 Nairobi, Kenya http://ochaonline.un.org/somalia April 2011

4 OCHA Somalia, P.O. Box 28832, 00200 Nairobi, Kenya http://ochaonline.un.org/somalia April 2011