Fears refugees will swamp Kenyan aid camp

THOUSANDS of Somalis fleeing drought, famine and war have started moving into a new extension of the world’s largest refugee camp in Kenya, which is increasingly concerned about bearing the brunt of the Horn of Africa crisis.

About 1,500 Somali refugees are now crossing into Kenya each day but there is no room for them in the congested Dadaab camp, which was declared full in 2008.

Instead, 65,000 refugees have been forced to “self-settle” in cardboard and plastic shelters on flood-prone land outside the camp.