IDP camp gutted by fire in Puntland

A camp for internally displaced people in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland was razed to the ground when a fire broke out there earlier this month, the UN reported.

In a press release, the Office of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia said the fire swept through the Boqolka Bush camp - on the outskirts of Bosaso - on 3 September, destroying the personal belongings and household items of about 400 families living there.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established and no casualties were reported.

"Immediately following the fire, the UN, aid agencies and Puntland administration came up with a response, which included distribution of resettlement kits, plastic sheets, jerry cans, blankets, cooking pots, and high-protein biscuits by UNICEF [UN Children's Fund]," the statement said.

It added that the UN and other agencies had expressed concern over the lack of permanent settlements for IDPs in and around Bosaso. Most of the 28,000 IDPs in the Bosaso area come from southern regions of Somalia, fleeing insecurity at home.

The Puntland authorities agreed to work with the agencies to alleviate the plight of the IDPs, the statement said.

The UN-appointed independent expert on human rights for Somalia, Dr Ghanim Alnajjar, who visited the Boqolka Bush camp earlier this month, said the IDPs were living in "sub-human conditions", which were among the worst he had ever seen.