Zanzibari refugees want to stay

The 103 refugees from Zanzibar who have been in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, since 6 October do not want to return to Zanzibar, one of them told IRIN on Thursday. The refugees had come from Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya. Kassim Abubakar, a spokesman for the refugees, told IRIN that the group had no plans to return to Zanzibar for the time being. Abubakar said their lives were still in danger if they returned now. He said the refugees felt safer in Mogadishu than they had in Dadaab. "We have had no security problems up to now, and we feel safer here than in the camp."

The refugees, who are temporarily accommodated in a school compound in south Mogadishu, were living in the open, Hasan Bashi, the school administrator, told IRIN. "We have identified a more permanent place to settle them, but we don't have tents" he said. Kassim Abubakar told IRIN they had enough food, but lacked health services. "We eat enough, but many people are complaining of stomach problems." Food was being supplied through individual donations by individuals, and some by the Transitional National Government, Bashi said. Bashi appealed to aid agencies to provide the refugees with tents and medical services.