Voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees begins

The arrival Wednesday at Mogadishu International airport of 116 Somali refugees from a Kenyan camp marks a first step in efforts to repatriate greater numbers of Somali refugees from Kenya, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said. An agreement by a Tripartite Commission, made up of the UNHCR, Kenya and Somalia, envisions […]

The arrival Wednesday at Mogadishu International airport of 116 Somali refugees from a Kenyan camp marks a first step in efforts to repatriate greater numbers of Somali refugees from Kenya, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said. An agreement by a Tripartite Commission, made up of the UNHCR, Kenya and Somalia, envisions the voluntary repatriation of some 425,000 Somali refugees from Kenya over a five-year period.
Most of the refugees – 330,000 – are living in Dadaab, the largest refugee settlement in the world. Many of the refugees have been there since the 1990s and have given birth to children who have never been to Somalia.
The return of the 116 Somali refugees follows a pilot repatriation program begun in December, which has successfully returned 3,000 refugees to the relatively safe districts of Luuq, Baidoa and Kismayo.