Refugees at Dadaab set to go home
What you need to know:
- The first group of refugees should leave Kenya before the end of the year.
- In the move dubbed Return is my Choice, UNHCR advises the immigrants on how to travel back home safely, among other things.
More than 3,000 Somali refugees at the Dadaab camp want to return home in the coming months, according to a UN agency.
The first group of refugees should leave Kenya before the end of the year, says the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In January, UNHCR established information desks in all the five sections of the camp to guide the refugees on how to go back home.
In the move, dubbed "Return is my Choice", UNHCR advises the immigrants on how to travel back home safely, among other things.
At least 3,020 refugees have visited the help desks. Dadaab is home to 356,101 refugees.
This week, the UNHCR will begin identifying families willing to return to Somalia and provide them with relevant support and information.
“We are advising them to go only to certain parts of Somalia where the security situation has improved,” said UNHCR Senior Protection Coordinator Leonard Zulu.
Mr Zulu said Kismayu, Luuq and Baidoa were some of the safe places.
“But the repatriation should always be voluntarily. We shall assist them settle in Somalia,” he added.
In August, a UNHCR team and Somalia refugee community leaders travelled to Kismayu to assess the security and socioeconomic situation ahead of the planned returns.
