BELED HAWO, Somalia, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- The United Nations refugee agency Tuesday said conflicts in Beled Hawo, a Somali town on the Kenyan border, drove 60,000 people from their homes.
Further, during the past week 10 people have been killed in the clashes between al-Shabaab, an Islamic insurgency group and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa, a militia group tied to Somalia's transitional federal government, a U.N. report said.
Andrej Mahecic, a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman, said most of the displaced people have fled to nearby villages and some crossed into Kenya.
"Of the estimated 40,000 people displaced within Somalia, most are living under trees without shelter, water, food or any sanitation. To make matters worse, it has been raining for days, increasing the risk of an outbreak of disease," Mahecic said.
The UNHCR has begun registering the new refugees and is coordinating a humanitarian response. Kenyan officials and aid agencies are cooperating with UNHCR to deliver basic services and provide food, water, medicine, shelter and sanitation to the refugees.
