IOM has completed the relocation of some 2,000 mainly Somali
refugees from Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya to Kakuma
camp in the northwest to reduce overcrowding.

The relocation, which ended over the weekend, was carried out by
IOM with funding from the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR). It included the movement of 500 refugees by air
and the movement of the remaining 1,500 by road.

"We gave priority to vulnerable people in need of protection
– including children and families headed by women," says
IOM's Operations Officer Bill Lorenz.

IOM convoys, each comprising 10 buses, made three trips each
carrying 500 refugees, completing the 1,200 km journey between the
camps in three days.

Dadaab, which has seen a massive influx of refugees, mainly from
Somalia, now shelters almost 200,000 refugees – double its
original capacity. Kakuma now houses some 51,000 refugees, mainly
from Sudan.

"The ongoing repatriation of 8,000 or so Sudanese refugees from
Kakuma to Sudan this year means that Kakuma is now less crowded and
able to take in some of the refugees from Dadaab," explains
Lorenz.

For more information please contact:

Bill Lorenz

IOM Kenya

Tel: +254 722 709 362

Email: "mailto:wlorenz@iom.int">wlorenz@iom.int

or

Rose Ogola

Tel: +254 20 4444 174/167

Email: "mailto:rogola@iom.int">rogola@iom.int