Repatriation of Kenyan refugees suspended

The repatriation of some 4,700 Kenyan refugees from Ethiopia was temporarily suspended by the Kenyan government on Wednesday. The directive came after the refugees had been stranded in no-man’s land between Kenya and Ethiopia for about two days. A statement from UNHCR said that the government requested the suspension citing “security concerns” and “clan conflicts” in the refugees’ area of return. Kenyan television quoted Minister for State in the Office of the President Marsden Madoka as saying the refugees were denied entry after the government found out that most of them did not hold Kenyan identity cards, nor did UNHCR inform his office or make arrangements for the repatriation.

However, according to a UNHCR statement, the agency had contacted the interior ministry which, it said, had sent its officials to meet the refugees and verify their nationality. “UNHCR will make new arrangements to assist the refugees who had dismantled their shelters in camps in Moyale, Ethiopia, in readiness for their return home,” the agency’s statement said. “At the same time UNHCR will remain in close contact with the Kenyan government for advice on the re-commencement of the repatriation of the refugees.” The refugees had sought asylum in Ethiopia in May 1993 after Kenya’s first multi-party elections in December 1992 which provoked hostilities between the Somali Degodia and Ajuran clans living in the Wajir district of northern Kenya.