Clashes in Somalia displace 75,000 as rains threaten
NAIROBI - More than 75,000 people have fled their homes and 18 have been killed during three weeks of clashes in Somalia, the United Nations said on Monday, warning that women and children sleeping in the open will suffer as the rainy season looms.
Clashes erupted on Saturday and Monday between forces loyal to the two semi-autonomous regions of Puntland and Galmudug in the town of Galkayo, it said.
"The fear that the conflict may last longer than anticipated is driving more people out of their homes," the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in an update.
Most of the displaced are women, children and the elderly who were already living in camps and have now fled for a second time to the outskirts of town, it said.
