The newly formed Parliament of Jubbaland which was sworn in recently is set to be inaugurated on Saturday amid controversy surrounding how the selection process was carried out. Officials of the Jubbaland presidency who spoke to Wacaal.com on condition of anonymity confirmed that the inauguration ce...

UNHCR is releasing today at 11am Geneva time a new report on asylum trends in industrialized countries during the first half of 2011. The report shows a 17 percent increase in asylum claims during this period, with Afghans continuing to be the largest group by country of origin. The report notes rel...

The deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia has forced more than 318,000 Somalis to flee their country so far this year. While the majority are seeking safety and aid in neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, many Somalis continue to head northwards to embark on the risky sea journey across the Gu...

At least four people were killed and 10 others wounded when a car rammed into a busy restaurant and exploded in the Somali capital Mogadishu, local sources told Al Jazeera. The blast on Tuesday targeted the Bonoodo restaurant located near the city's Central Hotel, which was the scene of a deadly ...

Thousands of displaced Somalis have been affected by heavy rains and flooding in parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. <P>In Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, the rains have flooded the shelters of some 2,800 people in Sigale IDP camp. In response, UNHCR has distributed 4,500 assistance kits with pla...

A Mandera chief was abducted when suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen ambushed a vehicle he was travelling in on Thursday morning. Arabia chief Muktar Maalim commonly known as Muktar Otieno was ordered out of the 14-seater van after it was stopped along Arabia-Mandera Road One of the passengers told the Sta...

Fighter jets from the Saudi-led coalition battling Shia rebels in Yemen have struck targets in several provinces, including the capital Sanaa, security officials said, as fighting raged across the country. Sunday's air strikes began just after midnight, officials said, hitting a military base kno...

DADAAB, Kenya, November 28 (UNHCR) – Ibrahim held up an X-ray of his broken thigh bone, taken when he first arrived in the Dadaab refugee complex of north-eastern Kenya. Five months later, he still cannot walk. <P>"I fell off a car when I was heading to Kenya from the Bay region [in southern Soma...

We are concerned about Al Shabaab’s announcement yesterday, permanently revoking work permissions to a number of UN organizations including UNHCR in parts of Somalia under their control. <P>This comes at the time of a dire humanitarian crisis in southern and central parts of Somalia. After drough...

Hundreds of Somali refugees in southern Ethiopia’s Dollo Ado region have been relocated from an overcrowded transit centre to a new camp, Bur Amino. The camp was opened on Wednesday and became the fifth one in the Dollo Ado region. The first group of some 400 refugees has been moved by bus from ...