The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has expressed concern over the continuous fighting in some areas of Somalia and the wave of displacement in the war-torn country.

The OIC humanitarian coordination office in Somalia said at a Wednesday press conference in the capital Mogadishu that its program of voluntary return for the Somali displaced has been hindered by military operations against al-Shabab fighters.

“The program of voluntary return was not moving the way we planned, because still there is fighting in some areas, and that affects our process in returning people back home,” said OIC spokesman Mohamed Ahmed Adam.

The weak Western-backed transitional government in Mogadishu has been battling al-Shabab fighters for the past five years, and it is propped up by thousands of African Union forces from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.

According to a report by the UN Refugee Agency on September 21, more than 10,000 Somalis have fled the coastal city of Kismayo to the neighboring villages, “fearing the resumption of fighting.”


In addition, thousands of people have been rendered homeless in Somalia following river floods, triggered by days of heavy torrential downpour.

On October 2, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visited flood-ridden areas in the south-central province of Hiran, appealing for more assistance from well-wishers to support the affected families.

Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia remains among the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally-displaced persons in the world.

Source: Press TV