UNHCR repatriates 3634 Somali refugees from Kenya

The UN refugee agency said Tuesday it has so far repatriated 3,634 Somali refugees from Dadaab refugee camp in northeast Kenya to the Horn of Africa nation since December 2014.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its bi-Weekly Update released in Nairobi that 296 returnees were assisted with return support package in the second half of August and arrived safely in their respectively destinations.

"In total, 3,634 Somali refugees returned home since December 8, 2014, when UNHCR started supporting voluntary return of Somali refugees in Kenya," it said.

The voluntary repatriation is the result of efforts by the Tripartite Commission formed by UNHCR and the governments of Kenya and Somalia, which was formed to step up support for voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees.

According to UN refugee agency, a cross-border meeting on voluntary repatriation to Somalia held on Aug. 26 observed that the stations in Dobley and Mogadishu had been expanded and can now accommodate 250 and 300 individuals respectively.

Despite the fragile security environment situation in Somalia, an increasing number of refugees were seeking to register for voluntary return, UNHCR said, noting that more still have returned spontaneously without receiving assistance from UNHCR.

Dadaab has been providing protection, shelter and humanitarian assistance to Somali refugees for two decades often under difficult and complex circumstances. Chronic overcrowding, a risk of disease, and seasonal floods are among these challenges facing the refugees.

The repatriation continues amid fears that the exercise might be interrupted by a devastating four-year famine in Somalia. Stakeholders now say this is likely to cause an influx of even more refugees until the humanitarian situation in that country improves.

The latest findings from a joint countrywide seasonal assessment by UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released last week reveal that some 855,000 people across Somalia will be in "crisis and emergency" through December 2015.

Source: XINHUA