More than 2, 000 refugees from the civil war in Somalia are living illegally in Moscow, but they're finding it's not the sanctuary they had hoped for.


As many as 13 Somalis are crammed into tiny, one-room apartments. They travel in groups to protect themselves against attack and receive little or no support from the Russian government.


With 400, 000 refugees from the former Soviet republics to deal with, Russia has practically no government programs to help non-Soviet refugees.


Two Somali refugees have been murdered and others stabbed and beaten within the past year, said Pastor John Melin of the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy.


"We don't have any expertise in refugee service, but there was no one else, so we said we'd help", said Melin.


Since a fund-raising campaign began two weeks ago, Melin said he had raised more than $40, 000 from the International Red Cross, World Vision, and private individuals.


Melin said the church might soon complete a deal with the Russian Academy of Science to move about 200 Somalis into an old, winterized dacha, where food will also be provided.


Most of the Somalis came to Moscow via African countries or Syria. They chose to fly to Moscow from there because Russia was the only country to grant visas.


That is partly a holdover from the communist era, when African students and refugees were encouraged to move here, and part of Aeroflot's mandate was political. It showcased the hammer and sickle and provided cheap transport to 102 countries around the world.


Moscow's Somali community has its own worries: crime.


Yasin Farah Musar, for instance, had part of his finger chopped off when four Russians broke into the apartment Musar shares with two friends.


The thieves stole everything: 700 rubles and their clothing.


The Somalis appeared to take such hardships philosophically, and said they were grateful towards Russians in general.


"I'm not afraid. This could happen anywhere in the world", Musar said.


Approximately 70 Somalis are still stranded in Sheremetyevo airport, where Aeroflot has refused to fly them on to the West because their papers are forged.


They have no visas allowing them to leave the terminal.


United Nations representative William Clarance said the U. N. would begin this month to help "a small number of destitute" Somalis, some of whom have been here for two years.


The U. N. is also trying to stop Aeroflot from deporting the refugeesin-transit, to move them into the airport's transit hotel, and to find countries to accept them, Clarance said, although he added that the prospects are slim.