NAIROBI
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is seeking access to hundreds of Somalis detained by Kenyan authorities as part of an ongoing major security operation.
"We have just held crucial talks with top officials of the government," UNHCR spokesman in Nairobi Emmanuel Nyabera told Anadolu Agency.
"The talks were centered on the government allowing us to access the Somalis where they are being screened," he explained.
The UNHCR official said the Kenyan government has promised to respond to their request, but did not say when that might be.
"The fact that we met, talked and negotiated, is positive," added Nyabera.
Kenyan authorities have detained over 3000 since the launch of the security operation last week, including 69 who have already been sent to court.
"We have on our hands over 3000 who are confined," Assistant Interior Cabinet Secretary Mwendwa Njoka told AA.
He said the suspects, who include Kenyans, Ugandans, Congolese, Eritreans, South Sudanese and Somalis, are confined at Kasarani Stadium in the capital Nairobi.
Njoka said 447 people are being interrogated and screened before being referred to court.
"As of now 69 have been taken to court, others are set to be deported."
Kenyan authorities launched a massive operation to restore security after a recent spate of attacks in capital Nairobi and the coastal city of Mombasa.
A directive issued by Kenyan authorities two weeks ago asked all refugees in urban centers - estimated to number nearly 50,000 - to relocate to two designated refugee camps in the mostly arid northern areas of Dadaab and Kakuma.
Dadaab in northeastern Kenya is believed to be the world's largest refugee camp, with an estimated population of roughly 500,000 refugees.
Kakuma, also in northern Kenya, is home to more than 125,000 mainly Sudanese refugees, according to the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR).
The two camps – located in one of the most remote parts of the country – are already overcrowded.
Kenya shelters close to 800,000 refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
By James Shimanyula
englishnews@aa.com.tr
