United Nations Radio

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has expressed deep concern about the continued forcible return of Somali asylum seekers by the Kenyan government.

UNHCR Spokesman Ron Redmond says the latest incident occurred last week. Three Somalis were wounded by border police in northeastern Kenya when they refused to stop their vehicle for inspection. The three wounded were interviewed by UNHCR and said they had fled the fighting in Mogadishu and had come to Kenya to seek asylum. According to Mr. Redmond UNHCR requested that the three asylum seekers be handed over to the Kenyan Department of Refugee Affairs and UNHCR for further processing:

a refugee child

"However, on 21 January, according to hospital officials, six policemen turned up at the Dadaab Health Centre, where the three asylum seekers were undergoing medical treatment for their bullet wounds, ordered them into a police van and drove them to the border. Later in the day, the authorities confirmed that they had been returned to Somalia."

Ron Redmond says UNHCR has brought to the attention of the Kenyan Government other incidents of forcible return of Somali asylum seekers and is calling on the authorities to fully respect the principle of non-refoulement, as enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention and in Kenya's own refugee act.

Reporting for UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova.
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