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Thousands of Somali refugees stream into Kenya
 [Mail and Globe] Somalis fleeing war and hunger at home are pouring into neighbouring Kenya at an average rate of 7 000 a month, swelling what is already the world's largest refugee settlement, United Nations staff said on Thursday. Voting with their feet, are they? Eighteen years of civil conflict in Somalia show no sign of abatement, with foreign militants joining Islamist rebels seeking to topple a new government that is the 15th attempt to restore central rule since 1991. ... the "new government" being mostly the Islamic Courts, which is now too moderate for international Islamism... About 80 000 people have died in the last two years alone, while a million Somalis are refugees in their own land, three million need urgent food aid and hundreds of thousands have crossed borders into Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. "We have been receiving an average of 7 000 refugees [a month] since January and from what they tell us, the major reason why they leave their country is increasing insecurity," said Anne Campbell, head of the UN refugee agency UNHCR's sub-office in Dadaab, north Kenya. Located 100km from the border, Dadaab's three main camps -- Dagahaley, Ifo and Hagadera -- are a large settlement of mainly flimsy huts and tents on sandy scrubland. Set up in 1991, the camp was designed for 90 000 refugees, but now houses 275 000, mainly Somalis. Aid agencies expect this number to keep increasing, and are seeking more space from the Kenyan government. "We are preparing for a higher influx in mid-June because the rain has made it impossible for those fleeing the current fighting to reach the border easily," added Campbell. With high food prices and falling donations owing to the global financial squeeze, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that supplies for Dadaab could soon be squeezed. Posted by: Fred 2009-06-05 |
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