After attacks, Kenya restricts refugee freedoms

After enduring months of grenade and other explosive device attacks, Kenya announced new, more stringent controls aimed primarily at Somali refugees inside its borders. A Kenya parliamentarian criticized the measures, saying they are akin to opening concentration camps, and the United Nations refugee agency said Friday that it is in consultations to preserve refugees' rights, AP reported. The UNHCR and government representatives met Friday over the government's new policy, said Emmanuel Nyabera, a UNHCR spokesman. The two sides will meet again Monday, he said. A government statement from the Department of Refugee Affairs said Kenya hosts refugees from nine countries. But given the security environment in Kenya, it's clear the government is most concerned about the hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia. Hosting so many refugees, the statement said, brings many challenges, including "rampant insecurity" in refugee camps and urban areas.