The UN refugee agency said the closure of the Dadaab camp must be carried out on a “voluntary basis and conducted in a systematic manner”.
Reacting to a three-month closure ultimatum given by Deputy President William Ruto, the UNHCR said it has yet to get official communication from the government regarding the matter.
Ruto, speaking in Nyeri on Saturday, said the clearing of the refugee camp would allow the security forces in Kenya to deal with terrorist elements from within.( Read story here)
It is feared that suspects sneak into the camp and plot terror attacks. "We have asked the UNHCR to relocate the refugees in three months, failing which we shall relocate them ourselves," the DP warned.
But UNHCR spokesman Emmanuel Nyabera said the refugee agency had not been officially told of any plans to close the largest refugee camp in Africa.
“We are yet to get an official communication from the government along these lines. The statement we're talking about, we also heard about it in the media,” the spokesman told Radio France International in an interview.
When asked how it would physically work if the UNHCR did actually close the camp in three months, the spokesman said it would be “something extremely challenging”. He went on: “We're talking about more than 350,000 refugees living in these camps – most of them are women and children and moving that number of people will not be possible,” Nyabera said. Ruto had indicated that the government had held discussions with the UNHCR over the matter and asked them to relocate the camp, which currently houses more than 600,000 refugees, to Somalia.
The Dadaab camp has been the focus of discussion on terrorism in Kenya because of its alleged connections to the activities of the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab terror group.
Following the Garissa University terror attack, some political leaders want the mass repatriation of refugees back to Somalia. Yesterday, some refugees fled the camp, trying to reach other towns in the country to avoid being sent back to Somalia.
Sources told the Star that due to numerous roadblocks mounted by the police, the crew of the lorries ferrying the refugees had opted to dump them several kilometres from Isiolo town, after which they decided to trek long distances on foot. Some were said to be admitted at a hospital in Isiolo with severe exhaustion.
Northeastern political leaders led by the three county governors and the National Assembly Majority leader have also called on the UNHCR to wind up the camp to buttress government efforts to combat terrorism.
