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Somalia: Over 200,000 refugees swell camp, UN agency says
(AKI) - The rows of emergency tents have reached the perimeter of the 'Ifo camp' in Dadaab, Kenya which means that the UN refugee agency, UNHCR has run out of space to put newly arrived Somali refugees. "All refugees have to find a place with relatives or friends, we no longer have any land to provide them," Leonidas Nkurunziza, a UNHCR field officer, said in a report released on the organisation's website on Tuesday.Some 230,000 people now live in the three adjacent camps at Dadaab, one of the world's oldest, largest and most congested refugee sites. UNHCR fears tens of thousands more will arrive throughout next year in this remote corner of north-east Kenya as the situation in their war-ravaged country deteriorates further. Each morning, hundreds of new arrivals squat in front of the UNHCR registration offices, anxious for the staff to arrive. To meet the enormous demand, the agency has increased the size of its registration team. The three Dadaab refugee camps -- Ifo, Hagadera and Dagahaley -- were built in 1991 to host 90,000 refugees. The continuing conflict in Somalia has led to a steady inflow of refugees over the subsequent years, and this shows no sign of easing up. More than 60,000 Somalis have crossed into Kenya so far this year. Most come from Mogadishu and the Lower Juba regions of Kismayo, Jamame and Afmadow. The crisis in Somalia is further compounded by severe drought conditions, food insecurity and periodic heavy flooding in the Horn of Africa. On Tuesday, African Union troops said they would keep their 3,400-strong peacekeeping force in Somalia for two more months, an official said. In recent months, Islamist forces - some with ties to al-Qaeda - have seized control of most of southern and central Somalia. Posted by: Fred 2008-12-24 |
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