Somali refugees return to Bula Hawa

Only a small number of Somali refugees from the southern Somali town of Bula Hawa, Gedo Region, remained in Mandera, northern Kenya, humanitarian sources told IRIN. Most of the refugees have spontaneously returned home following a peace agreement reached by rival clan militias earlier this month. Up to 10,000 refugees from Bula Hawa fled to the border town of Mandera in April to escape inter-clan fighting. “Everyone is making their own private arrangements to get back home to Bula Hawa, which is just a few kilometres across the border,” the source said. A small number remained in temporary accommodation or with relatives in Mandera, where the Kenyan authorities made it clear that no formal provision for shelter would be established. “Things are now peaceful in Bula Hawa, and people are happily returning home,” the source said. Newly appointed District Commissioner Ahmad Abdullahi had been installed in Bula Hawa, and the situation was normal in the town, local sources said.