NAIROBI, 25 February 2008 (IRIN) - Hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in camps on the outskirts of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, held a demonstration in the city on 24 February to call attention to their plight.

"We demonstrated to remind the world that we are here and our children are here and suffering," said Abdullahi Kabe, a community leader in the Arbiska IDP camps, near Afgoye, 30km south of Mogadishu.

Kabe, a father of three, said: "We are appealing to the world to come to the rescue of our children, before it is too late for many of them."

At least 6,000 families (about 36,000 people) most of them children, fled the violence in Mogadishu and have settled in the area, according to Jawahir Ilmi, who coordinates the 12 IDP camps in the area.

Kabe said the world seemed unconcerned about their plight and the demonstration was "a way to remind them of our problems". Some of the children were malnourished and needed "immediate assistance".

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) provides 75kg of cereals, 10kg of pulses, 3.6kg of vegetable oil and 10kg of corn-soya blend, which is especially suitable for helping prevent malnutrition among infants and pregnant or nursing women. However, Peter Smerdon, of WFP said: "We don't provide other infant food to the camps."

Kabe said some families used up the rations in two weeks or less. He said in February, two infants died and "many more will die if they don't receive nutritious food soon. We have in the camps children [whose stomachs] are swollen, a sign of malnourishment."

He said the displaced were in desperate need of water, shelter material and food for children, adding that "the water problem was most acute".

Despite the difficulties in the camps, IDPs were still arriving in the area, said Ilmi.

According to the UN Children's Agency, UNICEF, global acute malnutrition rates in Somalia were above the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency threshold levels, and when combined with low immunisation coverage, poor hygiene and lack of access to safe water, constitute a grave threat to children.

In a statement issued on 12 February, the UNICEF Somalia representative, Christian Balslev Olesen, said: "Funding shortfalls will have a devastating impact on our ability to save lives."

According to the UN, fighting between insurgents and Ethiopian-backed government forces has displaced at least 700,000 people.

ah/mw

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