Kenya to repatriate Somali refugees
The BBC reports that more than 500,000 Somali refugees in Kenya will be able to return home after the United Nations refugee agency signed a tripartite agreement with the two countries.Under the agreement, the Somalis will be repatriated voluntarily over the next three years.
Somalis have sought refuge in Kenya from war and poverty. The two governments and the UN hope to introduce a reintegration program to help the refugees start new lives in Somalia and participate in the reconstruction of the war-torn country.
The BBC World Service‘s Africa editor, Richard Hamilton, says the main problem with the agreement is that most of the refugees know that Somalia is still not safe and probably would not want to return.
Kenya has become disgruntled with having to bear the burden of the refugee population.Some governmental officials believe that refugees pose a security threat to Kenya. Kenya has been particularly concerned about terrorism following the attack by suspected Somali militants on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in September.
KJ