ADDIS ABABA, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Wednesday called for urgent support amid the recent influx of Somali refugees into Ethiopia.

The UNHCR, in its inter-agency refugee response plan and emergency appeal issued Wednesday, said the security situation emanating from a political dispute in the city of Las Anod in the Sool region and other surrounding areas has deteriorated since December 2022.

It said the ongoing conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of people internally and across the border into the Somali region of Ethiopia, many being women, children and vulnerable people.

Ethiopia has allowed access to the territory for those seeking international protection. Refugees have spontaneously settled across 13 locations, taking shelter with host communities, schools and overcrowded makeshift shelters or open spaces.

Three districts in the Doolo zone--Bokh, Galhamur and Danod--have received the refugees, with the main entry points, according to the UN refugee agency.

The UNHCR has sounded the alarm over the dire situation in the Doolo zone, with a total host population estimated at 497,000 individuals, most of whom are pastoralists. The region is already struggling with the effects of prolonged drought.

"Heavily reliant on livestock as the primary form of livelihood, the drought has rendered the people in the host community vulnerable to worsening food insecurity," the UNHCR said.

It warned that a large influx of refugees into this fragile context would challenge the humanitarian response and efforts to mitigate the shocks to existing service delivery systems.

The UNHCR further stressed that the refugee influx creates a significant operational challenge, with the refugees hosted in remote and underdeveloped districts with the limited presence of humanitarian actors.

It said the food security situation in the area is worsening, with moderate acute malnutrition observed in many children under five years of age as well as pregnant and lactating mothers.

The UNHCR said providing protection services to newly arrived refugees remains a critical priority, including establishing mitigation and response mechanisms to gender-based violence, exploitation and sexual abuse. Enditem