Dadaab refugee camp. UN agency is allowing refugees to return to safe areas. [Photo|the-star.co.ke]
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is conducting the repatriation of Somalis from the camp to return home safely and voluntarily.
UNHCR's senior protection coordinator Denis Alma Kuindje said the agency is only facilitating a safe return to areas considered safe.
Speaking at his Dadaab sub-office, Kuindje said in some areas the refugees face danger, persecution and hunger and the agency will not allow them to return in such areas.
He said returning to Baidoa has been suspended due to severe drought and cholera adding that some refugees have returned to the refugee camps after being facilitated to go back to Somalia.
Kuindje said the agency is only assisting refugees who are willing to go back home and not promoting the repatriation noting that refugees are returning to their hometowns in Mogadishu, Dinsor and Kismayu.
“Since the process started, the number of refugees in the camps has been going down due to spontaneous return of refugees to Somalia. It's important to note that UNHCR is only facilitating the safe return to areas considered safe.”
“We collect information from those who come back to the camps and even the new arrivals. There are areas that still have security concerns and lack of social amenities,” said the protection coordinator.
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