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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18 Dec 2009 ... DADAAB, Kenya, December 18 (UNHCR) - Dulane Jama and his family suffered in silence for three years ... After an arduous and dangerous trek across Somalia, he ended up about four months ago at Dadaab, a ...... -
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16 Nov 2016 ... by the Government of Kenya on its continued search for solutions for refugees at Dadaab is welcome. ... has been involved in the search for long-term solutions for the situation of refugees at Dadaab. ...... -
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Kenya Dadaab Presentation 2011
Aug 2013 ... Distribution of LNS in a refugee camp: Lessons learnt Gloria Kisia Back-ground Dadaab camps, Kenya ... ,SFP, OTP, IYCF program Malnutrition trends-Dadaab 0 5 10 15 20 25 Dadaab Dagahaley Hagadera Ifo ...... -
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23 Jun 2006 ... writing to you from Dagahaley refugee camp in Dadaab. Dear sir, there is an alarming issue here. ... If life was tough at home in Somalia, it was not much easier in northern Kenya. The camps in Dadaab ...... -
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30 Oct 2014 ... Ban Ki-moon this week visited the sprawling Dadaab refugee complex and praised the resilience of ... of their people, we would not be here," he told refugees in Dadaab's Ifo 2 camp on Wednesday. ...... -
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3 Aug 2011 ... that continue to arrive in northern Kenya's Dadaab area from conflict-torn and famine-stricken ... overcrowded and unsafe areas of Dadaab to a new extension of the sprawling refugee camp complex. ...... -
UNHCR appeals for additional $115 million for voluntary return, reintegration of Somali refugees from Dadaab camp
26 Jul 2016 ... refugees from Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya. Funding is also required for relocation of refugees from Dadaab to Kakuma refugee camp, as well as related projects and infrastructure in Kenya and Somalia. ...... -
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2 May 2014 ... DADAAB, Kenya, May 2 (UNHCR) - Getting a good night's sleep was until recently almost impossible for ... A student at a secondary school in Hagadera, one of the camps in northern Kenya's sprawling Dadaab ......