The Kenyan government will close Dadaab refugee camp, which has hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees and is often referred to as the world’s largest camp, the East African country’s interior security minister. The decision has been condemned by domestic and international rights groups and organizations dealing with refugees.

• Dadaab camp, with an estimated 328,000 refugees mostly from Somalia, compromises Kenya’s security because it harbors some of Somalia’s al-Shabab Islamic extremists and is a conduit for smuggling weapons.
• Recently the Kenyan government announced it intends to close Dadaab as well as Kakuma, a refugee camp housing 190,000 people, mostly South Sudanese fleeing civil war.
• The UN has urged Kenya to reconsider its decision to close Dadaab camp.
• Eleven non-governmental organizations operating in Kenya issued a statement Tuesday urging the government to reconsider the intended closure of the refugee camp.
• Those signing the statement include the International Rescue Committee, World Vision, the Danish Refugee Council, Jesuit Refugee Service, Action Africa, Help International, the Lutheran World Federation, OXFAM, the Refugee Consortium of Kenya, Save the Children, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Heshima Kenya.
• The group urged other countries to expand their resettlement quotas for refugees coming from the Horn of Africa in order to help Kenya and share the burden of hosting refugees.