Nairobi — Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, has expressed deepest concern at the pathetic conditions in which Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are living.

Spaeking at a press release that on the occasion of World Refugees Day on Wednesday, the Special Representative, noted with regret that IDPs in Somalia continue to live in very congested centers with poor sanitation and sometimes without access to clean drinking water which he said has been a cause of many diseases within the camps.

The AUSecial Representative called on aid agencies and other stakeholders to intensify their efforts to alleviate the suffering of IDPs by providing at least the most basic services of food , shelter and clothing to those in need.

"With the security situation in Mogadishu and the surrounding districts improving, I wish to appeal to humanitarian organizations to scale up their operations and reach as many displaced persons as possible with the much needed humanitarian assistance," he said.

The AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has helped the Somali National Army (SNA) to liberate Mogadishu and other districts outside the capital thereby ensuring safe corridors for humanitarian agencies to access those in need, according to the release.

He said: "By liberating as many areas as we have done recently, we are fulfilling our mandate of securing humanitarian corridors to allow for the delivery of assistance to IDPs and I wish to ask aid agencies to seize this opportunity."

Source: Xinhua