Somalia: Thousands Homeless as Settlements Razed
Government Pledge to Investigate Forced Evictions a Positive Step
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(Nairobi) – Somali security forces using bulldozers have demolished dozens of informal settlements in Mogadishu since late December 2017, leaving thousands homeless. Human Rights Watch analyzed satellite imagery that shows that between December 29 and January 19, 2018, approximately 3,000 shelters were dismantled or destroyed using heavy machinery.
On January 17, the federal minister for planning, investment and development, Gamal Hassan, responded to growing criticism from aid organizations and announced the government would investigate the evictions. The Somali government should credibly investigate security force abuses in the forced evictions, Human Rights Watch said.
“The Somali government needs to take responsibility for the mass forced evictions of these vulnerable, marginalized communities in Mogadishu,” said Laetitia Bader, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “A thorough investigation should be followed by concrete steps to ensure that all future evictions are lawful and that anyone displaced is provided for.”
Somalia has 2.1 million internally displaced people, half of whom fled conflict and drought in 2017 alone. Many are living in informal settlements in urban areas. Since 2011, Human Rights Watch has documented serious abuses against displaced communities in Mogadishu including forced evictions, sexual violence, and clan-based discrimination. Government and private actors have repeatedly forcibly evicted displaced communities without any redress. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) documented the evictions of over 153,000 people in 2017.
Human Rights Watch interviewed by phone nine displaced people who were forcibly evicted from their homes at the Xaq-Dhowr and Masha’Allaah Center settlements near the Afgoye-Mogadishu road since late December. They said that security forces destroyed their shelters without warning, using threats and at times force to make them leave their homes. The evictions left them without water, food, or other assistance. Aid agency assessments corroborated their accounts.
Government Pledge to Investigate Forced Evictions a Positive Step
Show More Serviceshttps://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/styles/node_embed/public/multimedia_map_image/201701africa_somalia_idps.jpg?itok=Z6brLL-j
LAUNCH MAP
Show More Services
© DigitalGlobe 2018
(Nairobi) – Somali security forces using bulldozers have demolished dozens of informal settlements in Mogadishu since late December 2017, leaving thousands homeless. Human Rights Watch analyzed satellite imagery that shows that between December 29 and January 19, 2018, approximately 3,000 shelters were dismantled or destroyed using heavy machinery.
On January 17, the federal minister for planning, investment and development, Gamal Hassan, responded to growing criticism from aid organizations and announced the government would investigate the evictions. The Somali government should credibly investigate security force abuses in the forced evictions, Human Rights Watch said.
“The Somali government needs to take responsibility for the mass forced evictions of these vulnerable, marginalized communities in Mogadishu,” said Laetitia Bader, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “A thorough investigation should be followed by concrete steps to ensure that all future evictions are lawful and that anyone displaced is provided for.”
Somalia has 2.1 million internally displaced people, half of whom fled conflict and drought in 2017 alone. Many are living in informal settlements in urban areas. Since 2011, Human Rights Watch has documented serious abuses against displaced communities in Mogadishu including forced evictions, sexual violence, and clan-based discrimination. Government and private actors have repeatedly forcibly evicted displaced communities without any redress. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) documented the evictions of over 153,000 people in 2017.
Human Rights Watch interviewed by phone nine displaced people who were forcibly evicted from their homes at the Xaq-Dhowr and Masha’Allaah Center settlements near the Afgoye-Mogadishu road since late December. They said that security forces destroyed their shelters without warning, using threats and at times force to make them leave their homes. The evictions left them without water, food, or other assistance. Aid agency assessments corroborated their accounts.
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