World’s largest refugee camp is closing: More than 600,000 people could be displaced

Kenya plans to close all of its refugee camps in a move that would displace more than 600,000 people.

According to BI, The country’s government said it was shutting down the camps because of “very heavy” economic, security, and environmental issues. Those due to close include Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world, home to more than 300,000 people on the Kenya-Somalia border.

Karanja Kibicho, Kenya’s secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, cited the influence of the terrorist group Al-Shabaab as among the risks of keeping the camps open.

An aerial view showing makeshift shelters at the Dagahaley camp in Dadaab, near the Kenya-Somalia border, in 2011. Drought and two decades of violence have forced Somalis to flee their country and seek refuge at the three Dadaab camps, which were originally designed to accommodate 90,000 people. Dadaab is the biggest refugee camp in the world, with more than 332,000 refugees mainly from Somalia. PhotoCredit: Reuters
An aerial view showing makeshift shelters at the Dagahaley camp in Dadaab, near the Kenya-Somalia border, in 2011. Drought and two decades of violence have forced Somalis to flee their country and seek refuge at the three Dadaab camps, which were originally designed to accommodate 90,000 people. Dadaab is the biggest refugee camp in the world, with more than 332,000 refugees mainly from Somalia.
PhotoCredit: Reuters

Mwenda Njoka, an interior ministry spokesman, added: “The message is clear; we are closing the camps and we will not accept more refugees in the country.”

Human-rights groups lambasted the decision, expressing concern at the hundreds of thousands of refugees it could put in danger.

Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s regional director in East Africa, told The Independent, “This reckless decision by the Kenyan government is an abdication of its duty to protect the vulnerable and will put thousands of lives at risk.

“It could lead to the involuntary return of thousands of refugees to Somalia and other countries of origin, where their lives may still be in danger. This would be in violation of Kenya’s obligations under international law.”

Newly arrived refugees running from a cloud of dust at the Dagahaley refugee camp in Dadaab. PhotoCredit: Reuters
Newly arrived refugees running from a cloud of dust at the Dagahaley refugee camp in Dadaab.
PhotoCredit: Reuters

Liesbeth Aelbrecht, head of mission for Medecins sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, in Kenya, said the move was another example of the “blatant neglect of millions of refugees” around the world.

Aelbrecht said: “MSF is urging the government to reconsider this call, and — alongside the international organisations already present in the camp — to continue to provide humanitarian assistance and ensure acceptable living conditions for the hundreds of thousands of people who desperately need it.”

Human Rights Watch told The Independent there was no “credible evidence” linking Somali refugees to any terrorist attacks in Kenya.

Last year, food rations in the camp were cut because of a lack of funds.

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