|
25 000 Somalis arrive in Kenya
28/09/2006 20:52 - (SA)
Nairobi - More than 25 000 refugees have fled into Kenya to escape rising instability in many parts of south and central Somalia, said a United Nations official on Thursday, the result of the escalating conflict between Somalia's fragile government and Islamic courts.
At the border town of Liboi, on the 700-km-long Somali border, more than 300 refugees have been registering with the UN refugee agency daily for more than two weeks, said the agency.
The flow began earlier this year when Islamic militias attacked Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, with numbers rising steadily since then.
"We are definitely in an emergency mode. This influx is stretching our capacities to the limit, and we are seeking additional funds from donors," said Eddie Gedalof, acting Kenya director for the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR).
Refuges flee from Mogadishu
Many of the latest arrivals were coming from Kismayo, fearing potential fighting between the Islamic Courts Union and warlords who support the interim government and had been controlling the city.
Others fled from Mogadishu and Baidoa, the seat of the interim government, both potential flash points.
Many have told UN workers that they have been attacked by armed militia and bandits as they made their way to Kenya in search of safety.
"We were robbed by bandits of all our food and personal belongings," Amina Abdi Adan, 56, told UN aid workers in Liboi.
"We had a lot of problems on the way to this place."
Suffering from hunger and exhaustion
Many women and children have made the desperate journey on foot, suffering from hunger and exhaustion and relying on food and water from villages they pass, said the UN agency.
Aid workers have set up a reception centre in Liboi, 500km northeast of Nairobi, to provide food, water and first aid to the new arrivals.
Refugees are then transferred to an existing refugee camp.
- AP
|
News
