(ERGO) – Amina Abdulahi Hassan and her husband have just returned with their eight children to Dhumay village, 40 km from Lasanod, which they fled a year ago when fighting broke out between rival clan militias.
During the year away, they stayed in Dhagah-isiku-guro village, 12 km east of Dhumay, with others escaping the conflict. It was a very difficult time, coinciding with the worsening drought, and 140 of their goats died leaving them with just five. Dhumay, their home village, is blessed with water catchments but where they went was dry.
The conflict erupted due to a dispute over rights and access to the water reservoirs in the area. Eders say 82 people were killed in the conflict on both sides.
Ibrahim Abdi Kabdhe, one of the elders who took part in the mediation process between the clans, told Radio Ergo they had finally agreed on a settlement to end the fighting. The settlement includes compensation the families of those killed and a system of fines and other penalties for those not adhering to the rules of the agreement.
He said since peace had returned, 350 families had come back to the affected villages of Dharkayn-Genyo, Dabatag and Dhumay.
Resuming their lives and livelihoods after so many losses is a challenge to those returning to this part of southern Sool region. Amina, 42, has opened a small restaurant to make ends meet. Their animals are gone and her husband has no job.
Surer Omar Mohamed, 45, a mother of five, also returned to Dhumay with just three remaining goats. They lived on help from relatives and aid from the drought response committee while they were displaced, She has opened a small shop selling food which she stocked with items bought on credit.
Sumer’s children are now back at school after a year out of classes.
“Forget about livestock for now, we will go back to restocking our animals later, but for now the shop business is going well. For a whole year we lived in fear of the fighting and that was also accompanied by hunger,” she told Radio Ergo.
Somali pastoralists return to Sool region after year-long clan conflict is resolved
Amina Abdulahi Hassan and her husband have just returned with their eight children to Dhumay village, 40 km from Lasanod, which they fled a year ago when fighting broke out between rival clan militias.
During the year away, they stayed in Dhagah-isiku-guro village, 12 km east of Dhumay, with others escaping the conflict. It was a very difficult time, coinciding with the worsening drought, and 140 of their goats died leaving them with just five. Dhumay, their home village, is blessed with water catchments but where they went was dry.
The conflict erupted due to a dispute over rights and access to the water reservoirs in the area. Eders say 82 people were killed in the conflict on both sides.
Ibrahim Abdi Kabdhe, one of the elders who took part in the mediation process between the clans, told Radio Ergo they had finally agreed on a settlement to end the fighting. The settlement includes compensation the families of those killed and a system of fines and other penalties for those not adhering to the rules of the agreement.
He said since peace had returned, 350 families had come back to the affected villages of Dharkayn-Genyo, Dabatag and Dhumay.
Resuming their lives and livelihoods after so many losses is a challenge to those returning to this part of southern Sool region. Amina, 42, has opened a small restaurant to make ends meet. Their animals are gone and her husband has no job.
Surer Omar Mohamed, 45, a mother of five, also returned to Dhumay with just three remaining goats. They lived on help from relatives and aid from the drought response committee while they were displaced, She has opened a small shop selling food which she stocked with items bought on credit.
Sumer’s children are now back at school after a year out of classes.
“Forget about livestock for the time being, we will go back to restocking our animals later, but for now the shop business is going well. For a whole year we lived in fear of the fighting and that was also accompanied by hunger,” she told Radio Ergo.
