Aid has been distributed to 366,000 Somalis who fled the capital, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday, expressing concern over the prevalence of acute watery diarrhoea, which has killed nearly a thousand people, and the fact that some areas affected by the outbreak remain inaccessible.

In a press release, OCHA said thousands of displaced Somalis have received aid though considerable humanitarian difficulties persist.

"To date, 366,000 of those displaced between February and earlier this month have been provided with food and supplies such as shelter and household items by UN agencies and their partners," OCHA said.

It said humanitarian organizations have also been working to provide clean drinking water, sanitation, education and health services to internally displaced persons (IDPs), many of whom are now using the lull in fighting to return to Mogadishu.

The UN humanitarian agency expressed concern, however, over the prevalence of acute watery diarrhoea, which has killed nearly a thousand people, and the fact that some areas affected by the outbreak remain inaccessible.

OCHA said many roads are still too dangerous for transport, landmines have been reported in some areas, airstrips have been rained out, transit through Kenya is still being negotiated and ships are refusing to sail to Somalia following the deadly May 19 attack against a chartered ship off the port of Merka.

On Friday, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said about 90,000 displaced Somalis have returned to the capital of Mogadishu out of 390,000 estimated to have fled recent heavy fighting in the war- infested capital early this year.

In a statement, UNHCR said the figure represents just over 23 percent of the 390,000 Somalis who fled the fighting between the Ethiopian-backed transitional government troops and insurgents.

Source: Xinhua