UN expresses concern over influx of refugees at Kenya's Kakuma camp
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E-mail Xinhua, August 18, 2012
UN expresses concern over influx of refugees at Kenya's Kakuma camp
NAIROBI, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The UN humanitarian agency has expressed concern over the number of refugees from South Sudan arriving at the Kakuma camp in northwestern Kenya which it said has surpassed the capacity of 100,000.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more funds will be required to set up a new camp that could accommodate more refugees in the East African nation.
"Kakuma refugee camp in north-western Kenya has surpassed its capacity of 100,000 residents," OCHA said in its Humanitarian Bulletin released in Nairobi on Saturday.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reports that 12,123 new people were registered in the camp in 2012, with the majority coming from South Sudan's Jonglei State and Sudan's South Kordofan State.
"In view of ongoing instability and conflict in Sudan and South Sudan, there is a high likelihood that more asylum seekers will make their way to Kakuma by year end," OCHA said.
Kakuma refugee camp hosts more than 90,000 refugee population from different African countries hit by civil strife and is the second largest refugee camp in Kenya after Daadab.
The UNHCR said in May it plans to create an additional refugee camp in Kakuma to accommodate the growing number of refugee population mainly from South Sudan.
Under the expansion plan, an estimated 100 hectares camp would be set up in Kalobeyei location about 80 km from Kenya-Southern Sudan border.
Head of the Kakuma Refugee Camp Abdulahi Abdi told Xinhua on May 20 that the new camp would accommodate the Southern Sudanese refugees fleeing war strife region in South Sudan.
OCHA said significant numbers of people from Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia have also sought asylum in Kakuma this year.
Kakuma was previously being considered for the relocation and decongestion of Dadaab refugee camp, which is currently holding over 470,000 refugees �C several times its original capacity.
Humanitarian partners are concerned about the constraints and competition for basic facilities, including access to water and lack of adequate accommodation.
"This is likely to result in localized tensions with the host community as people move in search of water, food and more land to settle in an area where commodities are already scarce," OCHA said.
Kakuma refugee camp which hosts refugees mainly from South Sudan has continued to grapple with direct and indirect conflicts between refugees and the host community due to differences in country of origin, religious/faith orientation and clan.
Analysts say integration of the refugees is one of the key challenges facing the international community. The region is also a hotspot for cross-border resource conflicts associated with cattle rustling and trade.
Supply of sufficient clean and safe drinking water remains a major challenge at the camp.
New arrivals are currently being settled within existing settlements as the UNHCR and partners continue to discuss with the government of Kenya the possibility of establishing a second camp in a potential site identified 35 km from Kakuma.
According to the UNHCR, about 16.7 million U.S. dollars would be required to set up the new camp, once approved. Enditem
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