NAIROBI, 5 April 2012 (IRIN) – Over the past few weeks refugees fleeing violence in parts of Sudan and South Sudan have been arriving in Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya in large numbers, and aid agencies fear the camp’s capacity could soon be exceeded.
Kakuma was initially designed to accommodate 100,000 people, and currently accommodates some 91,000, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
“We have been seeing rising inflows of refugees since the violence began both in parts of Sudan and South Sudan, and we are following closely the situation in the two countries. Our worry is that Kakuma could reach its full capacity by June [2012], unless the violence is stopped,” Emanuel Nyabera, spokesperson for UNHCR, told IRIN.
An estimated 4,500 refugees have crossed into Kenya since the beginning of the year, many of them from South Sudan and Sudan, according to the UNHCR.
“Since the military clashes began, 500-800 refugees from both Sudan and South Sudan have been streaming into Kakuma every week over the last few weeks,” said Martin Pepela, refugee programme manager for local NGO Refugee Consortium of Kenya.
Providing shelter for the newly arriving refugees has been the greatest challenge. Many have been forced to stay at the camp’s reception area, Pepela told IRIN.
“There is no shelter for the newly arriving refugees and this has been a big challenge.”
New camp?
UNHCR has begun talks with the Kenyan government on the setting up of a new refugee camp capable of hosting 100,000 people. Nyabera said a site near Kakuma had already been identified.
However, negotiations between the government and UNHCR on an extension of the Dadaab refugee camp in eastern Kenya took years to finalize, and officials say it might be a while before any new site in Kakuma is ready.
“Proposals have been made [for an alternative site] and once the host community agrees and the government approves, the whole process of preparing the site will begin but it will take time,” Omar Dhadho, head of protection at the department of refugee affairs within the Ministry of Immigration and Registration of Persons, told IRIN.
One source of refugees is South Sudan’s Jonglei State. At least 140,000 people have been affected by inter-ethnic conflict there, and some civilians have fled across the border to Kenya, according to aid workers.
Some of those now in Kakuma fled from South Kordofan and Blue Nile, Sudanese states on the border with South Sudan where rebels have been fighting government troops since July in the case of South Kordofan, and September in the case of Blue Nile. Earlier this month forces from both countries engaged in direct conflict. South Sudan has consistently denied Khartoum’s accusations that it is supporting the rebels across the border.
In all, some 140,000 civilians have fled South Kordofan and Blue Nile, mostly to refugee sites in South Sudan.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95242/KENYA-Sudanese-influx-strains-Kakuma-refugee-camp
Hundreds of Sudanese flee to Kenya
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWV1vfKww_s&w=550]
By DAVID LOMURIA david.lomuria@gmail.com and KEVIN J. KELLEY in New York kevinjaykelley@gmail.com
IN SUMMARY
- Foreigners seek refuge at Turkana camp after escalation of violence in their countries
Hundreds of Sudanese are fleeing to Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana County amid intensified conflicts in their countries.
The number of refugees arriving in the camp, including those who had earlier been repatriated, has increased steadily after the escalation of violence in their countries.
Many of the refugees, who have arrived lately, said they were fleeing violence in South Sudan’s Jonglei state. (READ: More than 200 dead in South Sudan clashes: official)
Others have come from Sudan’s South Kordofan state, where the Sudanese army has been battling a rebel force for months.
More than 4,500 asylum seekers, three quarters of whom are Sudanese, have arrived at the Kakuma camp in northern Kenya so far this year, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
If the current rate of arrivals continues, Kakuma will reach its 100,000 capacity by June, according to Mr Guy Avognon, UNHCR’s coordinator for the camp, which is about 95km from Kenya’s border with South Sudan.
“We need to take urgent action to address this influx, including expanding camp settlement areas and increasing capacities and resources to assist these newcomers,” he said.
Kakuma, which was opened in 1992, was designed to hold 100,000 refugees.
Currently, there are 91,140 people in the camp. Somalis account for about half the figure, with Sudanese making up about one-third of the residents. The rest come from 10 other African countries.
“Some said they had walked for two-to-three months to get here, and left the elderly behind as they could not complete the arduous journey,” Mr Avognon said of the Sudanese.
According to Turkana West district commissioner Patrick Muiira, about 150 refugees arrive in the camp each day. Within the last two months, the camp has received over 2,000 refugees.
Mr Gabriel Manyok, who recently arrived in Kakuma, said they were forced to leave their home due to famine, raids and killings in South Sudan.
“This is a big problem in South Sudan but we are willing to return home as soon as it is peaceful,” he said.
Mr Muiira said they register refugees as they arrive in Kakuma and hand them over to about 15 humanitarian organisations operating in the camp.
Juba warns of return to total war as South Sudanese flee to Kakuma Refugee Camp
Posted Wednesday, April 4 2012
IN SUMMARY
- South Sudan says full-scale combat could erupt if attacks in Kordofan continue
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement has warned of a full-scale war if attacks on Kordofan state and the Blue Nile are not stopped.
The warning comes at a time when a steady stream of refugees from Sudan has been entering Kenya in the past three weeks following an outbreak of violence in South Kordofan/Nuba mountains.
The SPLM says since violence broke out in June 2011, there were 380,000 internally displaced people and 30,000 refugees in Yieda South Sudan.
This, therefore, means Kenya will continue receiving a flood of refugees should the clashes continue.
In a statement sent to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council, the SPLM said Kenya, as the custodian of the 2005 peace agreement that led to the birth of the Republic of South Sudan, was expected to intervene and ensure tensions between Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan did not deteriorate into another full-scale war.
In such an eventuality, Kenya would bear the brunt of the fighting as refugees would stream into the country.
Sources at Kakuma refugee camp said there were many unregistered people who reported to the camp but left after a week or so.
“We see some refugees being brought into the camp but they disappear after a short while,” said the source.
Insecurity fears
Turkana West district commissioner Patrick Muriira said the laws that govern the handling of refugees in foreign nations prohibit the local authorities from blocking them from entering Kenya.
“We are well-informed about the influx of refugees into Kenya through Nadapal and other entry points. As the authority in place, we are expected to receive them,” said Mr Muriira.
The influx of refugees into Turkana has increased insecurity fears in the county, say local leaders.
Residents of Kakuma town have raised concerns over the huge number of unknown people entering the county.
A resident, Mr Samuel Imoit, said tension was rising over the large number of foreigners with no official word from the authorities.
“We were told the refugees had left but we are now seeing many more being brought into the camp.
“This poses a security threat to us in the county as anybody can just walk into Turkana without resistance from the authorities,” said Mr Imoit.
The rebellion in Southern Kordofan led by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North Sudan faction, and in the Blue Nile and Jonglei areas, could develop into a full-scale war if enough security measures are not taken by the international community to defuse the situation.
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