1 November 2011 Last updated at 12:23

In pictures: Somalis flee north after Kenyan incursion

Women at a makeshift camp in Galkayo, Somalia

The number of Somali famine refugees flowing into Kenya has slowed to a trickle since Kenyan troops moved into Somalia in pursuit of Islamist al-Shabab militants. As a result, many thousands of people are displaced within Somalia. This family made a gruelling journey – travelling hundreds of kilometres from southern Somalia to a makeshift camp in the north-central town of Galkayo.

Woman at a a makeshift camp in Galkayo, Somalia

This woman sought shelter in the same area after fleeing clan fighting last month in central Somalia’s Mudug region. For a generation, Somalia has been a symbol of the failed state – without an effective central government since 1991. Nearly one million people have fled the country; about four million of those who remain need immediate help, the UN says.

Violent clashes between opposing clans are frequent occurrences in central Somalia. The Sa’ad clan militia - pictured here - fight neighbouring clans over water and other resources. Piracy and kidnapping are also rampant. In the latest incident, two international aid workers were abducted by unknown assailants on 26 October near the airstrip in Galkayo.

All of Somalia is awash with weapons. Since 1996, the country has faced an insurgency led by various Islamist groups – with some linked to al-Qaeda, like al-Shabab which now controls southern Somalia and some central areas. In the summer of 2011, the country was further devastated by a famine and drought.

A woman in a makeshift camp in Galkayo, Somali

Galkayo, far from al-Shabab territory, is an important livestock and business centre. The town itself is split into sections governed by different groups, but it has seen its population grow as rudimentary camps sprung up to house those who fleeing famine and fighting. This woman left her home after clan fighting in Mudug.

A woman and her daughter at a a makeshift camp in Galkayo, Somalia

Hamdi Hussein Hassan, 32, lost her husband and two children when a mortar shell hit her house in the capital, Mogadishu, during clashes between African Union forces, which back a weak interim government, and al-Shabab. Her daughter Asha, five, survived but was left paralyzed. Mrs Hassan now lives in a small shelter made from sticks and cardboard in Galkayo. She earns one $1 a day collecting and selling recyclable rubbish.

An undernourished Somali child a Kenya's Dadaab camp

Before the Kenyan military campaign, many displaced Somalis headed to the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. Though Dadaab was built to house 90,000 people it currently shelters nearly half a million, making it the world's largest refugee camp. Here, one-year-old Abdirahman Mohamed, who was suffering from severe malnutrition and pneumonia, receives care at a camp hospital. He recovered after two weeks of intensive feeding and treatment.

Children fetching water in the Somali village of Darussalam

The drought in East Africa has been caused by successive seasons of inadequate rain. The situation is exacerbated by insecurity and lack of access to large parts of south Somalia by aid workers. Here, children fetch water at a tap installed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Darussalam village in central Somalia.

A Somali man looks on as his donkey drinks from a well

The drought has devastated livestock - a catastrophe for people who are mainly pastoralists and derive their income from animals. To prevent further losses, the IRC has built water troughs for animals and vaccinated and de-wormed some 35,000 livestock.

Abdi Hussein Farah (centre) pictured with his family in the village of Hilmo, Somalia

Abdi Hussein Farah, 40, has lost more than 100 goats in the drought. His few remaining animals were so malnourished that they stopped lactating. After trekking through the scorching wasteland of central Somalia, he built a shelter near the village of Hilmo, where conditions are only marginally better. “I have only a few animals left now,” he say. “Here, they have a better chance of survival.”

With no end in sight to Somalia’s civil conflict, the effects of the drought are expected to last well into 2012 and beyond. “The situation in Somalia is probably the largest catastrophe in the world at the moment,” said Prafulla Mishra, the IRC's Somalia director. Photos and words by IRC’s Peter Biro.

Africa

In pictures: Somalis flee north after Kenyan incursion

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