UN official says Dadaab camp closure on target

An average of nearly 2,000 refugees in Dadaab camp are voluntarily returning to Somalia in a week, the United Nations has said.

The UN further noted that the population of the world’s largest refugee camp has drastically been reducing with a decrease of 10,000 refugees since December and 60, 000 since last May.

A UN refugee agency spokesman Julien Navier, told Kenya’s Daily Nation on Wednesday, that the rate of return during the first six weeks of this year indicates they are on target for reducing the population.

The United Nations had signed an agreement with both Kenya and Somalia in 2013 to phase out the refugee camp established in 1991.

Kenya had threatened to shut down the camp in May this year citing security issues concerning the camp, that it was being used as a terrorist breeding zone.

A High court ruling in February blocked the move temporarily.