60,000 Somalis returned home, says Somali Resettlement Agency

Somali Refugee and IDP Resettlement Agency (SRIRA) said 60,000 Somali refugees have been assisted to return home for the last 15 months.

SRIRA chairperson, Ahmed Dahir who spoke to Goobjoog News said that over 40,000 others have spontaneously returned without any assistance.

“Over 60,000 Somali refugees had returned home between 2016-2017 after they were supported, there are also over forty thousand others who came home without support,” said Dahir.

He pointed out that over forty thousand Somali refugees have confirmed their intention to voluntarily return home and are waiting to be facilitated to return to the Horn of Africa nation.

The camp, currently home to some 275,000 people, 40000 of these people have registered themselves voluntarily return home, a process to ensure a smooth and voluntary repatriation is underway,” said the chairman.

The planned repatriation of the refugees has been slowed down by a raging drought and fears that it might lead to a famine in the region.

Dadaab was set up in 1991 to house families fleeing conflict in Somalia.

For more than 20 years, it has been home to generations of Somalis who have fled a country embroiled in conflict.

The Horn of Africa nation has been mired in conflict since civil war broke out in 1991 and is one of the most difficult countries for relief agencies to operate in.