The dangers facing families already uprooted by earlier severe flooding are now being severely compounded by the growing crisis.

Contact: Save the Children UK Media unit,  +44 (0)20 7012 6841, +44 (0)7831 650409, media@savethechildren.org.uk

MEDIA ADVISORY, Jan. 11 /Standard Newswire/ -- As fresh violence erupts in Somalia thousands of children are vulnerable to attack, forced recruitment and separation from their families, warns Save the Children UK. Unaccompanied children could also become prey to child traffickers and sexual exploitation.

Photo: Children in this region are victims of multiple disasters. Drought has been followed by floods and now the risk of full scale conflict inside Somalia is very real. Save the Children is urging the international community to immediately step-up its response and prepare for a potentially devastating double-emergency in the Horn of Africa.

The violence has been sustained for days and may escalate rapidly. Large numbers of people are now fleeing fighting in the vicinity of Baidoa, Idaale and Daynunay. The dangers facing families already uprooted from their homes by earlier floods along the Shabelle and Juba rivers are now being severely compounded by the growing crisis.

Despite months of clear predictions of a deteriorating security situation, international funding for Somalia is still critically low. The UN Consolidated Appeal for Somalia has only raised US$1.9 million of the required US$237 million, with Norway the only donor so far.

The flooding is also hampering existing aid efforts in Kenya. Many roads are now impassable, and more humanitarian flights may be necessary to deliver life-saving supplies. On the Kenyan and Ethiopian borders, humanitarian agencies and government authorities must be prepared for possible large influxes of people seeking safety from the conflict.

Save the Children protection officers working in Dadaab refugee camps are already assessing the border transit areas to protect children from separation, deprivation and abuse. It is crucial that unaccompanied children within the camps are quickly identified so they are protected from traffickers and sexual exploitation. The situation is already critical for children inside Somalia. Levels of infant and maternal mortality are among the highest in the world, and the volatile environment makes it extremely difficult to deliver humanitarian aid to the children who need it most.

Save the Children urgently recommends that:

• Donors come forward with confirmed pledges of funding for humanitarian relief for Kenya and Somalia. Immediate action is needed to prevent the situation deteriorating further.

• IGAD and influential governments must put all pressure behind peace talks, and avoid any one-sided support within this conflict. The peace process is as important as ever, but risks being sidelined completely by the fighting and delayed discussion at UN Security Council level. A cease-fire in the next few days could prevent the crisis from becoming full-scale civil war.

• Governments neighbouring Somalia must live up to their commitments in the Refugee Convention to safeguard the right for people to seek safe refuge if conflict spreads in Somalia. Measures must be in place to protect children from separation, abuse and violence.

• International donors must also support host populations in Kenya, who also face floods, insecurity and conditions equally as harsh as the refugees.

Flash floods

On 10 November flash floods swept through the town of Belet Weyne in Somalia's Hiran Valley. Since then an estimated 330,000 people have been displaced.

There are serious concerns for displaced people who are now exposed to the elements and the high risk of water contamination as the flooding swamps latrines and shallow wells. The most urgent needs are for plastic sheeting, blankets, soap, mosquito nets, food, jerry cans and water treatment tablets for drinking water.

Crisis in the horn of Africa - photostory

Clearing the transit centre - report from the front-line

Shelters have been washed away and destroyed, and many people have fled to higher ground. Large areas of the country are still completely inaccessible; food supplies are starting to run low, along with basic medical supplies. Given poor health practices, including open defecation, and no boiling or sterilisation of water, there is the possibility of a major health crisis. Rains are expected to continue into next year, even as late as July 2007.

Our response to the floods

Save the Children launched a rapid relief effort in response to the flooding. Our immediate priority is to provide shelter and access to clean water for vulnerable children. We have flown 42 metric tonnes of desperately needed relief items into the town of Belet Weyne, and are aiming to reach 6,000 families with blankets, mosquito nets, plastic sheets and water containers.

In Kenya, Save the Children staff are currently assessing the impact of the floods in Dadaab refugee camp. Two of our child protection experts have been seconded to the UNHCR in Dadaab, where they will be involved in identifying vulnerable groups displaced since the flooding and ensuring that child protection issues are addressed.

Background - working in a fragile region

In the past year the Horn of Africa region has experienced conflict, drought and flooding. Somalia has been in a state of conflict and lawlessness for over 15 years.

Venetia Bellers, Save the Children's Emergency Programme Manager in Kenya, said: "The risk of full scale conflict inside Somalia is very real and the international community must be ready for a movement of refugees. Donors must act now and prepare for a full-scale response to a worst case scenario. If they fail to heed these loud alarm bells that have been ringing for months, it will spell disaster for thousands of children and their families."

Many of the refugee camps in the region of Kenya are currently overcrowded, flooded and cut off from the rest of the country. Massive amounts of stagnant water are creating a public health hazard and food is scarce after flooding destroyed crops and livestock forcing market prices to increase threefold in some areas. Children are facing the risk of malnutrition and disease as well as the risk of being separated from their families.