The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that insecurity in Somalia slowed down the return of Somali refugees.
In its latest report for Somalia, the agency said that the returns will decline due to the ongoing military offensive by the Somalia National Army and the African Union Forces [AMISOM] against Al Shabab militant group in the southern and central regions.
“Following the mid-March launch of a military offensive by the Somali National Armed Forces (SNAF) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to recover Al-Shabaab-controlled areas in southern and central Somalia, humanitarian agencies remain concerned about possible consequences,” OCHA said in a report on Saturday.
The report comes after Kenya ordered all refugees living in urban areas to return to their camps in a bid to end attacks by armed groups carried out in retaliation for Kenya’s intervention in neighboring Somalia.
Kenyan police arrested about 1,000 Somalis in Nairobi during a massive security operation targeted against Somali populated suburb of Eastleigh in Nairobi on Saturday and Sunday.
However, the UN refugee agency has called on the government to reconsider its directive to move about 50,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers from urban areas to overcrowded and underserviced refugee camps.
According to UNHCR, all communities are affected by insecurity, and scapegoating refugees is not an answer, adding that blanket implementation of encampment measures is arbitrary and unreasonable, and carries a threat to human dignity.
On Saturday, Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur said the Federal Government of Somalia plans to take back the Somali citizens without proper or valid document in Kenya to return to their home country.
In its latest report for Somalia, the agency said that the returns will decline due to the ongoing military offensive by the Somalia National Army and the African Union Forces [AMISOM] against Al Shabab militant group in the southern and central regions.
“Following the mid-March launch of a military offensive by the Somali National Armed Forces (SNAF) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to recover Al-Shabaab-controlled areas in southern and central Somalia, humanitarian agencies remain concerned about possible consequences,” OCHA said in a report on Saturday.
The report comes after Kenya ordered all refugees living in urban areas to return to their camps in a bid to end attacks by armed groups carried out in retaliation for Kenya’s intervention in neighboring Somalia.
Kenyan police arrested about 1,000 Somalis in Nairobi during a massive security operation targeted against Somali populated suburb of Eastleigh in Nairobi on Saturday and Sunday.
However, the UN refugee agency has called on the government to reconsider its directive to move about 50,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers from urban areas to overcrowded and underserviced refugee camps.
According to UNHCR, all communities are affected by insecurity, and scapegoating refugees is not an answer, adding that blanket implementation of encampment measures is arbitrary and unreasonable, and carries a threat to human dignity.
On Saturday, Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur said the Federal Government of Somalia plans to take back the Somali citizens without proper or valid document in Kenya to return to their home country.
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