At least 24,000 Somalia refugees from the expansive Dadaab camps have so far been assisted to voluntarily return to their country since the signing of the tripartite agreement 2014, a senior United Nations (UN) official has said.
Speaking on Tuesday during the commissioning of a power station in Dadaab constituency, Wella Kouyou, the deputy representative of the UNHCR to Kenya, said in this year alone, 18,000 refugees have voluntarily gone back to Somalia.
Earlier this year, the Kenyan government reaffirmed that it would shut down the camps, saying it was a breeding grounds for terrorism activities.
Kouyou said the UNHCR would continue to work with the Kenyan government in ensuring that the Somalia refugees return to their country voluntarily and are accorded the much needed safety and dignity.
“We will make sure that a rehabilitation programme for the refugees is conducted alongside this infamous repatriation exercise. We thank the international communities, from whom we continually sought their support,” he said.
However, human rights groups have warned the Jubilee government against forcible repatriation, arguing that the Somalia nation is yet to stabilize.