Africa News
World's largest refugee camp - 463,000 people - is two decades old
Feb 22, 2012, 12:33 GMT
New York - The Dadaab settlement in eastern Kenya marks its 20th anniversary this year as the world's largest refugee site with more than 463,000 people, with thousands of them third generation born there, the UN said Tuesday.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees set up three camps at Ifo, Dagahaley and Nagadera in Dadaab between October 1991 and mid-1992 to house up to 90,000 Somalis who fled civil war in their country.
The population at Dadaab swelled over the years, including more than 100,000 Somalis who fled famine last year in their country.
UNHCR is launching a new appeal for assistance from the international community to assist the Kenyan government and refugee organizations to help the population at Dadaab with humanitarian supplies as well as health and education programmes.
