Hundreds of Sudanese flee to Kenya

 SHARE BOOKMARKPRINTEMAILRATING

By DAVID LOMURIA david.lomuria@gmail.com and KEVIN J. KELLEY in New York kevinjaykelley@gmail.com
Posted  Sunday, April 1  2012 at  22:30

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.

Share This Story

3Share 

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.