Members of Somali’s federal parliament have raised concern over the recent evictions of internally displaced families from government plots and buildings in parts of Mogadishu.
Abdisamad Mo’allim Mohamud said the government should come up with a relocation plan for IDPs before displacing them again from their settlements.
“It is important to contemplate several factors including finding shelter elsewhere for the victims and seeing if the building they are being told to leave is needed,” he said.
Referring to last week’s eviction of families from Aslubta camp, a government-owned property in Mogadishu, the MP said: “There is no plan for using the reclaimed building. It is just vacant. I am disturbed by the plight of the mothers and children who were left homeless. It is really painful! They don’t know where to go to.”
Another MP, Mohamed Omar Dalha, said it was the government’s responsibility to protect and help the displaced people camping in Mogadishu and its environs, not to evict them without organizing for their relocation.
He urged the Benadir regional administration to review its eviction plans.
Last week, Radio Ergo reported that the Somali government forced out thousands of displaced families from Aslubta camp on government-owned land that was formerly the headquarters of the Somali Custodial Corps in Dharkenley district.
Some of the victims joined other IDP camps while others went to stay with other families or slept in the open.
Many of them asked for help in returning to their original homes in other regions.
The report was widely circulated on social media and outraged many readers.
