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UNHCR repatriation of Somali refugees in Kenya nears 40,000

Xinhua, January 14, 2017 Adjust font size:

The UN refugee agency said Saturday it has repatriated some 39,316 Somali refugees in Kenya since the return exercise begun in December 2014.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its bi-weekly Update said out of the figure, some 33,725 were supported in 2016.

"The number of flights has been significantly increased as it remains the only mean of transportation to Somalia. Returns movements by air are organised to Mogadishu, Kismayu and Baidoa," it said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

The report said the UNHCR Dadaab will resume road movements to Somalia on Monday and the plan is to organize four convoys a week (each convoy will carry 350 -500 refugees).

"Verification, assessment and screening is ongoing for the registered refugees who have protection, health concerns and People with Specific Needs. These cases will be verified before being processed at the voluntary repatriation desk," it said.

Kenya in collaboration with the UNHCR are working on a program that will ensure a smooth and voluntary repatriation of over 300,000 refugees living in five camps at the Dadaab refugee camp after Nairobi announced the closure of the camp.

The UN agency has said it expects the majority of the remaining refugee population to return to Somalia throughout 2017 and possibly into early 2018.

Kenya which has since postponed the closure of Dadaab refugee camp says it has put solid measures in place to fast-track repatriation of Somalia refugee sand their re-integration in their native country.

The returns continue as the UN Peacebuilding Fund is set to allocate 3 million U.S. dollars on a pilot project that will provide peacebuilding and professional skills to Somali refugees volunteering to return from Kenya to Somalia.

The Fund said it will also help refugees settle down, and begin reintegration process into a community.

The UN Peacebuilding Fund notes that the project is unique as it reaches across borders and targets the same population, first in asylum in Dadaab, Kenya, and then upon return to Baidoa, Somalia.

It builds on an agreement between the governments of Kenya and Somalia and Office of the UNHCR on the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees living in Dadaab

The East African nation on November 16 2016 announced it will delay by six months the closure of the Dadaab refugee camp, the world's largest.

UNHCR has supported people's returns from Dadaab for years and in June, it worked with Kenya and Somalia to devise an action plan to that effect.

A survey between August and October found that 283,558 refugees were living at Dadaab, 58,000 fewer than in the past.

The UNHCR has since called on Kenya to be flexible in terms of a return time frame in order to meet the different elements of the plan that was devised earlier this year, citing a concern that rigid time frames would be difficult to meet. Endit