To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of people displaced from Mogadishu following the latest violence between insurgents and the allied Ethiopian and government troops; and whether any changes are planned to the UK's humanitarian assistance for Somalia. (167206)

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 197,000 people have fled from Mogadishu since the start of October. The Department for International Development (DFID) continues to provide humanitarian assistance on the basis of need. DFID’s regional humanitarian adviser has visited Somalia in the last month to assess the situation first hand, and we continue to keep an eye on the emerging situation. So far in 2007, the UK has provided £8.6 million in new commitments to humanitarian operations in Somalia.