Mogadishu, Apr 13 (IANS): Somalia is currently hosting 35,381 refugees and asylum-seekers, 69 per cent of them women and children, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said.

According to the UNHCR, 18,932, or 54 per cent, of them are asylum-seekers while 16,449, or 46 per cent, are refugees, reports Xinhua news agency.

The majority of refugees and asylum-seekers, 23,660, or 66.9 per cent, are from Ethiopia, followed by Yemen, 10,141, or 28.7 per cent, and Syria, 1,278, or 3.6 per cent, according to figures released by the UN agency on Wednesday in its latest update on Somalia.

It added that 75 per cent of refugees and asylum-seekers reside in urban or peri-urban settings across Woqooyi Galbeed and Bari regions, in northern Somalia.

The UNHCR said that it has started relocation of newly arrived Somali refugees in Ethiopia who fled recurring clashes in Las Anod in northern Somalia.

It said 1,036 of the most vulnerable people have been transferred from border areas to a new settlement over the past few days.

The UN agency said that Somalia continues to face multiple challenges, including political insecurity, conflict, natural disasters such as drought, flooding, and cyclones, as well as the impact of Covid-19.