MOGADISHU, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations humanitarian agency said on Wednesday that the number of humanitarian access incidents in Somalia fell by 29 percent, to 44 incidents, in the first quarter of 2025, down from 62 in October-December 2024.

Armed violence remains the primary driver of access restrictions, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its monthly humanitarian update released in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

"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, government counter-offensives, and aerial operations continued to disrupt humanitarian activities," OCHA said.

Humanitarian access incidents can range from bureaucratic delays to outright denial of access, and they can significantly hamper the effectiveness of humanitarian efforts.

OCHA said humanitarian operations remain largely inactive in some remote areas affected by ongoing hostilities, and as a result, the access constraints that hinder these activities are likely to be underreported.

Therefore, it said, the incidents captured may not fully reflect the scale of access challenges during the quarter.

According to OCHA, hostility-related incidents doubled from eight in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 16 in the first quarter of 2025, surpassing the quarterly average for 2024 and reversing the decline observed in late 2024.

It said the increase was concentrated in the Middle Shabelle and Bari regions, where non-state armed groups' attacks and military operations led humanitarian organizations to temporarily suspend activities in affected areas, limiting access to services for vulnerable communities.

Recurrent inter-clan violence and interference, both political and administrative, led to the suspension of several humanitarian activities in the Gedo Region, OCHA noted.

"Although high-level advocacy enabled partial resumptions, operational space remains fragile in the affected districts," the UN agency said. ■