More than 500-thousand Somali refugees in Kenya are to be given the opportunity to return home after the UN refugee agency signed a tripartite agreement with the two countries governments. Under the agreement, the Somalis will be repatriated voluntarily over the next three years. Correspondents say two of the camps they live in, Dadaab and Kakuma, are now so large they are more like towns. There is also a suburb of the capital, Nairobi - Eastleigh - that is known as Little Mogadishu because so many Somalis live there. The refugees fled Somalia after the collapse of the central government in 1991. Many of them were born in camps and have never set foot inside their home country. The two governments and the UN hope to introduce a reintegration programme to help the refugees start new lives in Somalia and take part in the reconstruction of the country.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 07:53:36 +0000