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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Student returns to Somalia with dream of becoming a doctor
3 Sep 2015 ... DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP, Kenya, Sept 3 (UNHCR) - Six years ago when Rahma, first arrived in Kenya as a ... "I am very happy because when I arrived in Dadaab I did not know how to write and read," she said. ...... -
UNHCR prepares for possible flooding in Dadaab refugee camps; appeals for US$2.8 million
6 Nov 2009 ... two camps - Kakuma in north-western Kenya and Dadaab in the east on the Somalia border," UNHCR ... repairing culverts on seasonal riverbeds that connect different parts of the three camps at Dadaab. ...... -
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11 Jul 2011 ... DADAAB, Kenya, July 11 (UNHCR) - With the worst drought in 60 years gripping huge swathes of east ... Accompanied by a large press entourage Guterres visited the component camps of Dadaab, namely ...... -
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15 Mar 2006 ... DADAAB, Kenya, Mar 15 (UNHCR) - Paul Parach Majak is a 21-year-old Somali with a passion for ... The 127,000 refugees in the three camps of Dadaab, in eastern Kenya, include huge numbers of young ...... -
UNHCR battles cholera at world's largest refugee complex
31 Dec 2015 ... DADAAB, Kenya, Dec 31 (UNHCR) - Health workers at the world's largest refugee complex in Kenya are ... watery diarrhoea, flared up in mid-November at Dadaab, which comprises five camps hosting 347,000 ...... -
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19 Apr 2007 ... much-needed relief and medical supplies from Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya to the Somali town of ... The relief goods trucked on Wednesday from the Dadaab camp complex in north-eastern Kenya include ...... -
UNHCR: More support needed for Somali refugees going back
16 Oct 2015 ... Since December 2014, UNHCR has helped nearly 5,000 refugees return to Somalia from Kenya's Dadaab ... The majority (420,000) are living in Kenya, mostly in the five refugee camps in Dadaab in the ......