Somalia: Humanitarian Access Snapshot (January - March 2025) - As of 13 April 2025

Overview

Humanitarian access incidents declined in Quarter 1 of 2025, with 44 incidents recorded—a 29 per cent decrease from 62 incidents in Quarter 4 of 2024. However, access remained severely restricted in key conflict-affected areas, particularly in Middle Shabelle, Lower Shabelle, Hiraan, and Bari regions, where intensified hostilities involving Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs), government counter-offensives, and aerial operations continued to disrupt humanitarian activities. Humanitarian operations remain largely inactive in some remote areas affected by ongoing hostilities; as a result, the access constraints that hinder these activities are likely to be underreported, and the incidents captured may not fully reflect the scale of access challenges during the quarter.

Conflict-Driven Constraints

Armed violence remains the primary driver of access restrictions. Hostility-related incidents doubled from eight in Quarter 4 of 2024 to 16 in Quarter 1 of 2025, surpassing the quarterly average for 2024 and reversing the decline observed in late 2024. This increase was concentrated in Middle Shabelle and Bari regions, where NSAG attacks and military operations led humanitarian organisations to temporarily suspend activities in affected areas, limiting access to services for vulnerable communities. The suspension of activities in these areas continues as of the date of this report.

In Gedo region, recurrent inter-clan violence and interference—both political and administrative—led to the suspension of several humanitarian activities. Although high-level advocacy enabled partial resumptions, opera-tional space remains fragile in the affected districts