President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s country that is still grappling with Al Shabaab militia says abandoning the treaty will also derail the ongoing Somalia-Kenya partnership to defeat terrorism.
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Kibicho said the Dadaab camp had “a terror cell” – a reference to its alleged links to Somali Islamist group Al-Shabaab – and “thriving illicit trade”.
The decision, announced overnight by the East African country’s interior security minister, has been condemned by domestic and global rights groups and organisations dealing with refugees.
“The refugees will be repatriated to their countries of origin or to third-party countries for resettlement”.
Dadaab and Kakuma camps house about 400,000 people; Daadab alone had about 340,000 refugees while Kakuma had more than 55,000 in UNHCR data released in September 2015. Kenya suggested closing the Dadaab after that attack. “Once they have been given the status of refugees in a host country, they have the right to stay until the situation back at home has changed”.
“Refugee camps such as Dadaab have been harboring terrorists masquerading as refugees and we all know that”.
I am deeply concerned by the Government of Kenya’s decision to close refugee camps in Kenya, dismantle the Department of Refugee Affairs, and expedite the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees who have sought protection in Kenya. “Sending them back to Somalia is definitely not the solution”.
“It’s a significant announcement, but let’s not be alarmed, because Kenya has said they would close it [Dadaab] in the past”, says Aynab Abdirahman, a community activist and former chair of the Washington state Refugee Advisory Council.
But on Wednesday Nkaissery said Kakuma will not be closed because it does not present a security risk. Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Burundi are among the countries whose people live in the camps. “Somalia is faced with drought and other security risks that are likely to see an increase in displacement and vulnerability”. Last year, the government threatened to close the camps at least twice and in 2013, it made a similar call after the Westgate attack.
“Our position is not to be for or against camps, we are for or against dignity and human support for refugees”, he added.
Dadaab residents, aid agencies on the ground and independent observers deny that Islamic militants find a safe haven there, while numerous reports have highlighted the role of corrupt Kenyan officials in the smuggling of charcoal, sugar and people through Dadaab. “But there is no evidence the Somalis refugees are responsible for the attacks in Kenya”.
The refugee population has decreased, but not quickly enough for the Kenyan government, which is anxious that militant violence has sown fear and damaged the economy, perhaps especially so with an election on the horizon.
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Kibicho said the first batch of the refugees will have been moved by November, noting that Kakuma camp which mainly hosts refugees from South Sudan will not be affected, as it “does not pose any threat”.
