UNHCR and partners have successfully relocated the vast majority of Somali arrivals in Kenya who for lack of other options, were forced to settle on Dadaab’s precarious outskirts. The new homes are in the newest extensions of the Dadaab complex, Ifo 2 East, Ifo 2 West and Kambioos. The outskirts whi...

GENEVA, October 4 (UNHCR) - UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie on Tuesday urged the international community to scale up its efforts to deal with the crisis in the Horn of Africa, saying the lives of hundreds of thousands of refugees depended on it. <P>In a speech in Geneva to the annual mee...

The International Red Cross has begun a huge distribution of aid to one million people in famine zones in Somalia controlled by Islamist militants. <P>A continuous operation will transport the food in lorries from the coast deep into areas controlled by al-Shabab. <P>The Red Cross says it is i...

Highlights •Ongoing Kenya operation moves nearly 79,000 Somali arrivals from Dadaab’s outskirts to its extensions before the onset of the rainy season. •Crude mortality rate in Ethiopia’s Dollo Ado reduces drastically from 4-5 deaths per 10,000, to 0.4 deaths per 10,000 daily. •Spate of vi...

GENEVA, 13 October (UNHCR) - UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, today expressed his deep shock and indignation at the violent abduction at the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya of two female MSF staff and the shooting of their driver. “These MSF colleagues were working to rescue live...

The arrival trend in October continues to show a significant increase, with a total of 4,968 Somali refugees crossing into Ethiopia over the last 12 days. This brings the average daily arrival rate to 414, which is more than twice the trend back in September. Hilaweyn has almost reached its full ...

UNHCR is releasing today at 11am Geneva time a new report on asylum trends in industrialized countries during the first half of 2011. The report shows a 17 percent increase in asylum claims during this period, with Afghans continuing to be the largest group by country of origin. The report notes rel...

IKEA Foundation, the charitable arm of the world's largest furniture retailer, has committed US$62 million to help build Kambioos in Dadaab. The focus of the partnership encompasses not only infrastructural development but also enhancing social services and livelihood opportunities. This enjoins IKE...

In the Dadaab refugee complex in eastern Kenya, we are seeing a sharp drop in the number of new arrivals from Somalia. This could be due to the border military operations or the onset of heavy rains in the area. No newly-arriving refugees have approached the registration centre in the last week. ...

The deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia has forced more than 318,000 Somalis to flee their country so far this year. While the majority are seeking safety and aid in neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, many Somalis continue to head northwards to embark on the risky sea journey across the Gu...