Zanzibari refugees end hunger strike

More than 2,000 refugees from the Zanzibari islands of Unguja and Pemba, who fled a violent political clampdown by the government of the semi-autonomous region of Tanzania in late January, have called off a hunger strike in Shimoni on the Kenyan coast, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

The refugees at Shimoni, south of Mombasa, were protesting against a decision by the Nairobi government to move a number of their leaders - including 16 island MPs of the Tanzanian opposition Civic United Front (CUF) - to the established refugee camp of Dadaab in northern Kenya on the basis that it cannot guarantee their safety where they are.

The Zanzibaris, mainly political activists from the island of Pemba, called off their three-day strike after a visit by Muslim leaders from the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, who visited Shimoni on Wednesday and promised to use their influence to have the relocation plans rescinded. Seven Tanzanians who fell ill during the brief hunger strike were admitted to Msambweni District Hospital, north of Shimoni, Kenya Television Network (KTN) reported on Wednesday.

UNHCR warned on Tuesday that the situation at the refugees' makeshift camp at the fisheries compound in Shimoni had become "desperate" as more people followed the initial Zanzibari refugees who arrived on 28 January. "UNHCR is building minimal sanitary facilities, but the situation in the compound remains critical and poses a health hazard," said UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski.

"The majority of the refugees are sleeping in the open because of the limited space, which makes it impossible to set up tents for all refugees." Heavy rain is also expected at any time, which would worsen sanitation and shelter conditions. The proposed relocation to Dadaab appeared to have stalled, as there were no signs of movement in Shimoni despite the Kenyan government's insistence that the move was irrevocable, KTN reported on Wednesday.