Kenya has ordered the closure of two large Refugee camps; the Dadaab and the Kakuma Camps, housing hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighbouring Somalia.
The country’s interior minister Fred Matiang’i said the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) has been given a two weeks to present a plan for the closure adding that there would be no further talks on the matter.
On the other hand UNHCR said in a statement that the decision would have an impact on the protection of refugees in Kenya especially amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
They however urged Kenya to ensure that those who need protection continue to get it, and pledged to keep engaging in a dialogue.
Kenya first announced their plans to shut the Dadaab camp, which is closer to the border with Somalia than Kakuma, back in 2016, due to national security concerns.
At the time intelligence reports showed that two large attacks on Kenyan targets in 2013 and 2015 took place with the involvement of elements from within the camps.
But the plan was blocked by the high court, which called the move unconstitutional.
The Dadaab and the Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya’s northern region together host over 410,000 people, which include a small proportion of people from South Sudan.
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