Context
Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, is also referred to as the Banadir region. The city, governed by a mayor, is divided into 16 districts, each headed by a district commissioner. There are no recently verified population figures for Mogadishu, but UNDP’s 2005 report estimated it at 900,000, while according to the Federal Government of the Republic of Somalia (FGRS), the current population figure is 2.5 million. The October 2011 inter-agency assessment indicates that 184,400 IDPs live in makeshift settlements and abandoned public buildings across the city. Most arrived from the southern and central regions (Lower and Middle Shabelle, Lower and Middle Jubba, Bay and Bakool) during the drought emergency between July to September 2011. Over 40,000 arrived during the military offensive in Afgoyee between February and May 2012. The year conflict in Mogadishu has resulted in huge population displacement into and out of the city. The peak of the conflict was in 2007 when the joint Transitional Federal Government (TFG) / Ethiopian forces fought the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). In subsequent years, TFG/AMISOM forces continued to fight Al-Shabaab (AS), which also led to massive displacements. An estimated 409,000 people left the city, fleeing to the nearby Afgooye corridor in the Lower Shabelle region, during the two decades of conflict. This conflict displaced an estimated 800,000 Somalis from Mogadishu, destroying houses and basic infrastructure services.
