The UN refugee agency has defended the Kenyan governmnt over allegations that its security agencies are pressuring Somalia refugees to leave the Dadaab camps and return to their homeland.
Voice of America (VOA), a US state-funded news aganecy had on Thursday last week quoted a UNHCR representative in Dadaab saying that several refugees are returning to Somalia out of fear and insecurity at the camps.
However, a Nairobi-based spokesman for the UN refugee agency has insisted that Somali in Dadaab are never being coerced into getting out of the camps.
“Those reports of forced repatriation are not accurate. We have never seen this. In fact, the Kenyan authorities have been working more closely than ever with our commsission,” said Duke Mwencha, the UNHCR spokesperson.
He further added that forced repatriation of refugees is a violation of international agreements that Kenya as a country has pledged to respect and uphold. Mwencha said a total of 19,346 Somali refugees have voluntarily vaccated the camps forto their homeland this year alone.