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News release

Somalia: One year on, families reeling from conflict in Puntland

Sudci Ismail

Mogadishu (ICRC) - More than a year after conflict broke out in the Cal Miskaad mountain range of Somalia’s Puntland region, fighting continues to take a heavy toll on the lives of thousands of families. Many have been forced to flee their homes, leaving behind land and livelihoods they depend on. As communities struggle to cope with the long-term consequences of violence, severe drought conditions gripping much of the country are deepening needs, placing additional pressure on communities already stretched to their limits.

In 2025, for the second year running, conflict was the main driver of displacement in Somalia, uprooting more than 200,000 people from their homes, according to humanitarian data tracking population movements. Military operations, including sustained air and drone strikes, escalated throughout the year.

Now in its second year, the conflict in the northern part of the country between Puntland Defence Forces and the Islamic State Group-Somalia (ISg-S) has displaced tens of thousands of people, disrupting a nomadic way of life that communities have relied on for generations. As a result, Bari region, where the fighting continues, ranks as among the regions hosting the highest number of people displaced by conflict in Somalia.

“We left in a hurry. We abandoned a house with four rooms, three water reservoirs and two farms. I had lived there for about 30 years,” said Sudci Ismail, 70, who now stays in a temporary house made of plastic tarps on the outskirts of a small village in Barookhle, Bari region.

Sudci Ismail with her extended family
Photo:ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed
Photo:ICRC/Abdikarim Mohamed

Sudci Ismail and her extended family outside their temporary shelter in a small village in Barookhle, Bari region. Like thousands of others, they have been displaced by fighting between Puntland forces and Islamic State in Somalia (IS-Somalia) in northern Somalia.

A severe drought, declared a national emergency in November, has also affected millions of people across Somalia. The northern parts of the country have been hit particularly hard due to their arid landscape. For those who were displaced, the area’s scorching temperatures add further strain to an already vulnerable population.

“Some of these families are pushed to remote areas where access to essential services such as food, water and health care is extremely limited,” said Antoine Grand, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Somalia. “Combined with persistent drought conditions, the traditional lifestyle of these nomadic pastoralists is profoundly disrupted.”

To support communities affected by the ongoing fighting and drought, the ICRC has maintained an operational presence in the region and has carried out the following activities since the start of the conflict:

  • The ICRC supplied Bosaso General Hospital and Balidhidhin Hospital with three weapon-wounded medical kits, along with additional complementary supplies. The items included anaesthetics, surgical materials, dressings, sterilization sets, infusions, splints, sutures and gloves. This enabled the treatment of 485 injured patients.
  • A total of 200 body bags were provided to the Ministry of Health to support the proper and respectful handling of the dead.
  • The ICRC rebuilt the Iskushuban Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) clinic, expanding its services to the host community and nearby villages. In 2025, the facility served 7,534 patients, including displaced people. The ICRC has been supporting the clinic since 2023 with staff salaries, capacity building, and medical supplies.
  • The main water source in Ufayn was rehabilitated, improving access to safe water for more than 54,000 people, including displaced families.
  • A total of 5,027 displaced families in 30 hard-to-reach villages in Bari region received two rounds of cash assistance $220 each. Following deteriorating drought conditions in December, families received an additional $120 in support.
  • Cash assistance was provided to 4,285 families displaced from the Cal Miskaad hills to Bosaso and Carmo towns, with each family receiving $330 over three rounds.
  • In Kalabayr and Waciye, 300 families received 1,500 goats (five per family) to help them restore livelihoods and strengthen self-reliance.
  • Three visits were conducted to Bosaso Police Station and Bosaso Central Prison to assess the condition of detainees held in connection with the fighting.
  • A total of 120 Puntland Defence officers in Galkayo and Garowe bases and 50 frontline personnel of Puntland Maritime Police Force received international humanitarian law (IHL) training, with a focus on the protection of civilians and the rules of armed conflict.
  • The SRCS volunteers in Bosaso are providing free phone call services to help families restore contact with missing or separated relatives.

For more information, please contact:
Rahime Adan, ICRC Somalia, tel: +254 705 410 641, radanissack@icrc.org
Abdirahman Abdullahi, ICRC Somalia, tel: +252 611 006 330, abmohamedabdullahi@icrc.org 
Mateo Jaramillo, ICRC Nairobi, tel : +254 716 897 265, mjaramillo@icrc.org