DISPLACEMENT AND ASYLUM

BAIDOA (SOHA) – Over 4,000 IDP families in southern Baidoa have been forced to go without water following a breakdown of the pump at the only well in the area. An estimated 4,274 families in internally displaced people’s camp (IDP) are having to trek long distances and spend more money …

DADAAB (SOHA) – Nurto Farah Mire, a Somali refugee, has been attacked seven times while going out to gather firewood for cooking on the outskirts of the Dadaab refugee camps in northern Kenya. She feels lucky to have escaped being raped. The 47-year-old now cooks at home for her family …

MOGADISHU(SOHA) – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) this week (19/12) opened a new main office in Mogadishu, constructed after the request of the Government of Somalia to support ongoing migration management programmes in the country. Following International Migrants Day, IOM staff members, together with the Somali Government, gathered to …

BAIDOA(SOHA) – Internally displaced families living a precarious life in the southern Somali town of Baidoa have succeeded in purchasing their own plots of land to escape from the constant threat of eviction. The communities in two IDP camps set up a scheme allowing people in the camp to deposit …

MOGADISHU (SOHA) – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has helped 14 Somali migrants to voluntarily return home from Tanzania and Uganda following months of confinement in detention centers. Hassan Ali Khaire, Prime Minister of Somalia confirmed the arrival of the Somalis in the capital, Mogadishu. “We are happy to …

GENEVA (SOHA) – Asylum seekers at the Mexican border fleeing violence or persecution are entitled to lodge claims in the United States to obtain sanctuary there, U.N. agencies said in a fresh attempt to shield migrants from tough U.S. immigration policies. United Nations officials have repeatedly urged Washington to ensure …

NAIROBI (SOHA) – The divisive debate over a federal refugee program will likely resurface next year in St. Cloud as two new members elected Nov. 6 join the City Council. Paul Brandmire and Mike Conway will be sworn in Jan. 7 for four-year terms, and both say they will push …

NAIROBI (SOHA) – Kenya has repatriated 300,000 refugees to Somalia under the Safe Voluntary Return programme since December 2014, Deputy President William Ruto has said. The government is partnering with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the programme. The UNHCR, Kenya and Somalia signed a tripartite agreement on …

SANAG (SOHA) –  An initiative by university graduates and students is enabling nomadic Somali children whose education was cut short by the punishing drought to catch up on their studies. The group of 150 youth have set up classes for children of destitute pastoralist families, displaced by drought and resettled …

SANAG (SOHA) – Displaced families from the Somali region of Ethiopia living on the outskirts of Badhan town in northern Somalia’s Sanag region are surviving under difficult conditions without access to food and proper shelter. The 27 families, who fled from conflict between Somalis and Oromos in eastern Ethiopia, have been …