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IGAD leaders tackle the Somali refugee’s crisis

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Leaders from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD0 will on Saturday hold a special summit on Somali refugees in Nairobi. The summit will seek a durable solution to the Somali refugee crisis including reintegration of returnees inside the horn of Africa nation.

According to the United Nations, more than two million Somalis have been displaced during the country civil conflict now in its 26th year.

An estimated 1.1 million people are internally displaced (IDPs) within Somalia and nearly 900,000 are refugees in the region. The growing pressure from countries that have hosted the refugees for decades, has necessitated the Nairobi Summit.

Kenya is among countries that have started a voluntary repatriation project for refugees in the country. Human rights groups have asked Kenya to honour a court ruling that stopped the country from closing the Daadab refugee camp, which is home to 249,000 Somali refugees, until conditions exist in Somalia for them to return in dignity.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has repeatedly said that the decision to close the camp is final.

– By Sarah Kimani

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