Kenya demands UN close Dadaab refugee camp, citing terrorism concerns

(Image credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

published 13 April 2015

The Kenyan government is calling on the United Nations to close the Dadaab refugee camp in Northern Kenya, claiming that al-Shabab fighters are using the camp as a base for attacks.

Deputy President William Ruto told the UN it has three months to find a home in Somalia for the 500,000 refugees, or the country would "relocate them ourselves." The demand comes after the attack against Garissa University College, which killed 148 people earlier this month. "The way America changed after 9/11 is the way Kenya will change after Garissa," Ruto said in a statement. "We must secure this country at whatever cost."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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