UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Mogadishu at the start of a brief visit to Somalia, which has been afflicted by protracted armed conflict, climate disasters and famine.
Guterres was given a red carpet welcome at the capital's airport on Tuesday by Somalia's Foreign Minister Abshir Omar Huruse, with the UN chief's visit coming as the country is in the grip of a severe drought that has driven many to the brink of famine, while the government is also engaged in a major offensive to put down a long running Islamist insurgency.
Somalia has imposed a security lockdown on Mogadishu for the visit, with most roads closed and public transport restricted.
The United Nations has launched a $2.6 billion appeal for humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa nation, but it has only raised 13 percent of the funds.
Five straight failed rainy seasons in parts of Somalia as well as Kenya and Ethiopia have led to the worst drought in four decades, wiping out livestock and crops and forcing at least 1.7 million people from their homes in search of food and water.
While famine thresholds have not been reached in Somalia, the United Nations says about half its population will need humanitarian assistance this year, with 8.3 million affected by the drought.
Adding to the country's woes, seasonal rains in March led to flooding that claimed the lives of 21 people and displaced more than 100,000, although the rains are unlikely to be enough to improve the food security situation for most Somalis.
I am honored and delighted to welcome the Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. António Guterres to Mogadishu. pic.twitter.com/zjXd7nsVRv
— Abshir Omar Jama (Huruse) (@abshirhuruse) April 11, 2023
Al-Shabaab insurgents
In 2011, Somalia was hit by a famine which killed 260,000 people – more than half of them children under six – partly because the international community did not act fast enough, according to the UN.
A report by the UN and the Somali government released in March said that drought may have led to 43,000 "excess deaths" last year, with children under the age of five accounting for half the victims.
One of the poorest countries on the planet, Somalia has been wracked by decades of civil war, political violence and a bloody insurgency by the Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab.
Last year, president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared "all-out war" against the Islamist militants and sent in troops in September to back an uprising against Al-Shabaab launched by local clan militias in the centre of the country.
In recent months, the army and militias known as "Macawisley" have retaken swathes of territory in an operation backed by an African Union force known as ATMIS and US air strikes.
The government claimed late last month that more than 3,000 Al-Shabaab fighters had been killed since it launched the offensive.
Al-Shabaab has frequently retaliated against the offensive with counter attacks, underlining its stability to continue to strike civilian, political and military targets despite the government's advances.
In a report to the UN Security Council in February, Guterres said that 2022 was the deadliest year for civilians in Somalia since 2017, largely as a result of Al-Shabaab attacks.
