PLATFORMS

MOGADISHU — The Somali government has suspended local flights in the country till further notice on Saturday. The move is aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus from the capital to the countryside. A statement from the ministry of transport and civil aviation noted the airline operators that the ban …

NAIROBI —  As the world race against time to stop the spread of the deadly Coronavirus that is fast spreading across the world, a humanitarian agency has warned that the virus has potentially devastating effects on refugees. Jan Egeland, the Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council says that the world …

MOGADISHU —  The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has welcomed Somalia’s official deposit of the instruments of ratification of the African Union Convention for the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to the AU Commission in Ethiopia. Johann Siffointe, UNHCR Somalia representative, said the latest move shows the progress made by …

MOGADISHU — The European Union on Friday announced to provide 11 million U.S. dollars to help tackle desert locust outbreak in Somalia. The EU said the outbreak could have devastating consequences on food security in a vulnerable country like Somalia, where one million people are already severely food insecure and …

CAPITALS — The East African region could be on the verge of a food crisis if huge swarms of locusts devouring crops and pasture are not brought under control. A massive food assistance may be required, Dominique Burgeon, director of emergencies for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), said. …

MOGADISHU — The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Tuesday it is working closely with the Somali government and other stakeholders to find durable solutions for Somalis displaced by insecurity and natural disasters. Mohamed Affey, UNHCR special envoy for the Horn of Africa, and Johann Siffointe, UNHCR Somalia representative, visited Wabishabele …

HARGEISA — To reach the Naasa Hablod camp, one must walk on a rough and narrow path, trimmed with thick layers of cactus bushes. The camp of 521 households sits on the edges of the city of Hargeisa and is home to 3,096 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Sixty-five percent of …

MOGADISHU —  Somalia declared the worst desert locust invasion in a quarter-century a national emergency that’s posing a major threat to an already fragile food situation. Swarms of the insects are breeding in Djibouti, Eritrea, and Sudan and have also spread to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia where they are devouring swaths …

MOGADISHU — “I have never seen something like this the whole of my life,” laments 65-year-old Marian.* Marian lives in a camp for displaced people in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. She has lived in the camp since 2016 when she and her family fled the war in a neighbouring …

HARGEISA — Somaliland firefighters have trained 300 people, including 210 women, on preventing and tackling fires in two large IDP camps outside the Somaliland capital, Hargeisa. Nasa-hablod A and B camps have suffered at least five major fires in the last two years, causing loss of life and property. The …