Geneva
15 January 2008
The U.N. refugee agency reports more than 6,000 Kenyans have crossed the border into Uganda. The government of Uganda, the Ugandan Red Cross, and U.N. agencies are providing security and relief to the refugees who have been fleeing the post-election violence that erupted in Kenya last month. Lisa Schlein reports from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.
Although the turbulent situation in Kenya is settling down, people are still fleeing to neighboring Uganda in search of a safe haven.
He says the UNHCR is focusing on getting help to many of the more than 200,000 internally displaced people in Kenya. He says the UNHCR has sent a team of 10 emergency staff to the capital, Nairobi, to assist in this effort.
"As calm returns to some parts of the country, the government estimates that IDP numbers in sites and community centers across Kenya have dropped by nearly 50,000, from 255,000 at the beginning of last week, to an estimated 203,000 by the end of the week," Redmond said.
"The government estimates there are approximately 500 internal displacement sites, scattered mainly in the Rift Valley, western Nyanza and Nairobi provinces," he added.
Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration says it is working with the Kenyan authorities and the Kenya Red Cross to establish two new sites for displaced people. They will be located on the outskirts of the town of Eldoret in the Rift Valley, the area worst affected by the post-election violence.