Twin blasts in Dadaab raise concerns of worsening security
Monday's explosion in Hagadera camp killed one police officer and wounded two others. Tuesday's blast in nearby Ifo camp suggested it was not an isolated incident.
GENEVA, December 21 (UNHCR) - An improvised explosive device went off on Tuesday near the market at the Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. There were no casualties but a police vehicle was damaged. The explosion came just a day after a blast in nearby Hagadera camp killed one police officer and seriously injured two others.
In a statement issued today, UNHCR expressed alarm at the string of recent security incidents targeting the Dadaab refugee complex in northern Kenya. Dadaab is the world's largest refugee settlement and shelters more than 460,000 people.
In total there have been four explosions at Dadaab since October, when three aid workers were kidnapped. The blasts have killed three Kenyan police officers and wounded four others. There have also been threats against humanitarian agencies working in Dadaab. UNHCR condemned these attacks and called for respect for peace and the civilian nature of the refugee camps.
"We are deeply concerned for the well-being and safety of Somali refugees in Dadaab, most of whom are women, children and elderly," said António Guterres, the UN's High Commissioner for refugees. "For the sake of refugees and those who are there to help them, it is of paramount importance to preserve the peaceful and civilian character of the camps."
A deadly mix of conflict, persecution, drought and famine has seen 295,000 people fleeing Somalia this year. More than half have found shelter at the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. Others fled to Ethiopia, Yemen and Djibouti.
In Dadaab, development of new sites, registration, deliveries of emergency assistance and services continued uninterrupted throughout the year. However, since October, growing insecurity has crippled the ability of aid agencies to deliver the all but life-saving assistance - mainly food, water and health services. UNHCR and its partners are exploring options to allow full operations to resume.
The situation in Dadaab has been further complicated in recent months by an outbreak of cholera, believed to have started among new arrivals who acquired it in Somalia or en route to Dadaab. Although new cases are now on a downward trend, UNHCR has registered 897 cases, and three deaths, since August. Worsening security, rains and flooding have also made it harder to truck in water to parts of the camps.
Somalia remains one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. More than 950,000 Somalis live as refugees in neighbouring countries, while another 1.46 million are internally displaced.
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Evaluation of the Dadaab firewood project, Kenya
15 Jun 2001 ... AND POLICY ANALYSIS UNIT Evaluation of the Dadaab firewood project, Kenya By CASA Consulting, ......... 13 Overview of the Dadaab Firewood Project......... -
Analysis of Refugee Protection Capacity: Kenya
18 Apr 2005 ... ... In 1998, these were consolidated into four refugee camps: the three Dadaab camps in the ... Somali refugees comprise the majority of the 138,571 refugees in the Dadaab camps. The Kakuma camp ...... -
Safe Haven: Case Study, Kenya
May 2013 ... ... / 22 Dadaab Refugee Camps / 22 Kenya’s Post-election Violence / 23 iv. findings / 25 Shelter Models / 25 Kakuma Refugee Camp / 28 Text Box: Dadaab Refugee ...... -
Strengthening refugee protection, assistance and support to host communities in Kenya: Project proposals
1 Aug 2008 ... according to international standards at the Dadaab camps……..9 3) Building the capacity of the ... access to a basic education of high quality at Dadaab refugee camps……………………………...... -
Vital links in social security: Somali refugees in the Dadaab camps, Kenya, Cindy Horst
10 Apr 2001 ... in social security: Somali refugees in the Dadaab camps, Kenya Cindy Horst University of ... 1991, three refugee camps were set up close to Dadaab, a small town in the Garissa district of ...... -
ILO-UNHCR Partnership through Technical Cooperation: Multi-bilateral Programme of Technical Cooperation: Self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods for refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma camps
1 Sep 2005 ... REPORT Self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods for refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma camps Alfred Dube (Kakuma) Andreas Koenig (Dadaab) The views expressed in this report are those of its author and ...... -
UNHCR fears fighting could swell numbers of Somalis fleeing into Kenya
11 Aug 2006 ... DADAAB, Kenya, August 11 (UNHCR) - Somali refugees are arriving at Dadaab in north-east Kenya at a rate of 100 per day, but UNHCR fears the numbers could rise even higher if fighting between the Union ...... -
Return intentions survey
17 Sep 2015 ... Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Dadaab Refugee Operation, Nairobi Kenya and the ... Following this initial support the IOM Dadaab Survey Team carried on the survey that was financially ...... -
How To Guide: Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations, Kakuma & Dadaab, Kenya
1 Jun 2001 ... Her assessment of RH services in Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps was undertaken with the aim of ... the reproductive health (RH) services provided in the refugee camps in Kakuma and Dadaab, Kenya. ......