By Magdalene Mukami
NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Kenya announced Friday it will close all the refugee camps in the country.
Karanja Kibicho, the Foreign Ministry’s principal secretary, cited security and economic concerns in the announcement. The country is currently home to more than 600,000 refugees from Somalia and South Sudan.
“As a result of hosting these refugees, the government of Kenya has continued to shoulder a very heavy economic, security and environmental burden on the behalf of the region and the international community,” he said in a statement.
The threat from al-Shabaab and delays in repatriation had led to the government deciding “that hosting of refugees has to come to an end.”
No timeline was given for closing the camps but the government department dealing with refugee affairs has been disbanded, Kibicho said.
The statement called on the international community to take responsibility for the humanitarian results of Kenya’s decision, which affects Kakuma and Dadaab camps in northern Kenya.
Dadaab, 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Somali border, was established in 1991 for Somalis fleeing violence and famine. There have been recent concerns that al-Shabaab terrorists have been hiding out in the camp.
