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Kenya accused of recruiting Somali refugees

Written by Sevencam
Monday, 26 October 2009 00:00

High fees and restrictions are holding back the potential of remittances to lift people out of poverty, a new United Nations report has found.

An international human rights group has accused the Kenyan government of helping to recruit Somali refugees in Kenya to join the armed forces of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government.

New York-based Human Rights Watch claim government-backed recruiters are approaching Somali men and boys in the Dadaab refugee camp as well as Kenyans from nearby towns. Top officials from Kenya and Somalia's prime minister, Omar Sharmarke, deny the accusations. However, Somali general Yusuf Dhumal told reporters in Mogadishu last week that both governments have been cooperating and have already recruited 1,500 potential soldiers in Kenya's North-eastern region to fight Islamic insurgents.

A civil war has been raging in Somalia since 1991, with Islamic rebel groups fighting against the Transitional Federal Government, which is backed by African Union peacekeeping forces.

This news story was originally featured on the Panos London website.