MOGADISHU, Nov 13: More than 170,000 people have fled fighting in Somalia’s capital in the past two weeks, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday, worsening a humanitarian crisis already facing the country.

With near-daily clashes between Ethiopia-Somali forces and Islamist rebels, the UNHCR said it was doling out its last stocks from Mogadishu to the displaced, but warned of tough conditions as host areas struggle with the influx.

Some 90,000 people have fled to Afgooye, 30 kilometres west of Mogadishu, which has already taken in some 150,000 displaced people since the beginning of the year. In the Afgooye area, “people can no longer find space for shelter around the town itself,” UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told journalists in Geneva.

“Many families are simply living under trees. Although several NGOs are trucking water to the sites, it’s not enough to meet demand,” he added.—AFP