Mogadishu's population soars

[Xusein]

A result of the ongoing rebuilding and stabilization of the capital.

Mogadishu population soars


MOGADISHU, Somalia, July 17 (UPI) -- An official in charge of security in Mogadishu said an estimated 1 million people have returned to the Somali capital this year.

Warsame Mohamed Hassan, a deputy mayor in Mogadishu, told the United Nations' humanitarian news agency IRIN that former residents were returning in droves.

"We estimate that about 1 million people have returned to Mogadishu this year," he said.

Al-Shabaab, a militant group allied with al-Qaida, has lost ground in Somalia as the interim administration in Mogadishu gains a foothold in the country. African forces in the country have fought alongside pro-government troops to restore security to the capital.

Hassan said the population in Mogadishu may be close to 3 million people, twice the estimate from July 2011.

Somalia has by members of the international community as an emerging success story. Oxfam, however, warns there's no room for complacency in a country that hasn't had a functioning central government since the 1990s.

"Somalia needs more than a band aid," Oxfam's Somalia Director Senait Gebregziabher said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/...#ixzz20wYclgIV

[Ras Siyan]

Is the city able to cope with so many returnees? Glad though Xamar is coming back

[Xusein]

To be honest, it seems to be regaining the population lost during the days when Al Shabab and Ethiopia were fighting and turned the city into a dead zone.

Also, the fact that many people migrated there to escape from the drought last year plays a significant role in the population boom.

I don't think the city can cope because it still doesn't have any institutions to handle growth.

[musa90]

Somalis always inflate their numbers big time, I never trust those numbers. Also, NGO's have an incentive to inflate those figures so they can appeal for more aid.

[Xusein]

^ Since there hasn't been a census in almost 40 years, we don't even know if it's inflated or not.

[ja'far]

Originally Posted by Xusein

^ Since there hasn't been a census in almost 40 years, we don't even know if it's inflated or not.

The article is full of lies. IRIN, which is the UN news agency in the horn has suspended it, because of that.

[Xusein]

So the population hasn't grown?

[VelesHomais]

I don't know anything about the situation in question, but one million people moving into any city within a year would be a nightmare in any imaginable sense, unless there were empty apartment complexes for a million people.

[EvolvingPrimates]

Originally Posted by VelesHomais

I don't know anything about the situation in question, but one million people moving into any city within a year would be a nightmare in any imaginable sense, unless there were empty apartment complexes for a million people.

A million is believable.

As brother Xussien said, the folks that moved out since the Islamist onslaught are making a come-back. Entire districts were abandoned & deserted. Today, all the districts are functioning at near normal capacities. So, am not surprised. Mogadishu was a city of 2 million plus before the war, & today it's packed in every corner.

[G.O.E.T.I.A]

Originally Posted by musa90

Somalis always inflate their numbers big time, I never trust those numbers. Also, NGO's have an incentive to inflate those figures so they can appeal for more aid.

+1