The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) fears that floods have displaced thousands of people in Somalia in recent weeks.
Specifically, the organization estimates that over 220,000 have been left homeless around the country because of the floods, COVID-19, and armed conflicts that show no sign of receding.
Charlie Yaxley, the UNHCR Spokesperson, issued a statement saying that “multiple compounding emergencies” are leaving hundreds of thousands of Somalis without homes.
In his statement, Yaxley says that the international community has to respond fast to avert what could easily turn out into a huge “humanitarian crisis.”
Yaxley’s statement clarified that 50,000 fled their homes between March and April this year during the government’s military operations against Al-Shabaab.
Further, he says the situation is likely to worsen as COVID-19 continues to ravage the country, whose healthcare system is already in tatters following decades of armed conflicts.