Haphazard Repatriation of Somali Refugees Could Boost Al-Shabaab Recruitment
Garissa — Solving the dilemma of repatriating Somali refugees in Kenya continues to be struggle between parties with opposing interests, with Kenya’s future, the refugees’ vulnerability and Somalia’s tenuous security all hanging in the balance.
While some in the Kenyan government have been urging the immediate return of all Somali refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has cautioned that repatriation must be voluntary and could take years to complete.
Another concern is that young Somalis returning to their home areas, which were only recently liberated from al-Shabaab by Somali and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces and are still lacking many basic services, could provide an easy target for the militant group’s recruitment drive.
Al-Shabaab has forcefully recruited children and youths, and also intimidated, harassed and assaulted residents in areas under its controls, said retired Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) Major Bishar Hajji Abdullahi.
He said al-Shabaab would view the returning refugees as potential recruits. “The group has not commented on the repatriation because it knows very well that the exercise will play into their hands,” he told Sabahi.
“Kenya may have its weakness in ensuring security for its citizens, but the situation in Somalia is worse,” he said. “The Somali government is struggling to battle al-Shabaab with limited resources for now.”
Security challenges abound:
Despite a tripartite agreement signed by Kenya, Somalia and UNHCR last November ensuring voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees, Kenyan Secretary of Interior and Co-ordination of National government Joseph Ole Lenku has continued to call for the closure of the camps and immediate repatriation of the refugees.
Lenku said the existence of the camps poses a security threat to Kenya because al-Shabaab is planning and carrying out attacks from the camps.
“It will defeat logic if the refugees do not return to areas liberated by Somalia and African Union as soon as today,” Lenku recently told Sabahi.
While the security concerns expressed by the Kenyan government cannot be discounted, forceful repatriation of the refugees will create a bigger problem for Somali refugees and further worsen the security threats in the region, said security consultant and retired KDF Colonel Daud Sheikh Ahmed.
Ahmed questioned whether the Somali government was capable of handling security for the hundreds of thousands of potential returning refugees.
Somalia already faces serious security challenges for the people already living there, he said. The return of more than 500,000 Somalis who have been living in Kenya will pose even greater challenge, he added.
In addition to the returning Somalis, aid workers who will be needed to provide services will also require their safety and security guaranteed, he said.
“The clan warlords who once made Somalia ungovernable appear to be history,” he told Sabahi. “But the returning Somalis will face a group that appears vanquished but poses a formidable challenge.”
“Al-Shabaab may have lost ground to the Somali government and African Union forces, but they have proved over time that they have not been vanquished,” he said.
Repair infrastructure, improve services:
Northern Forum for Democracy Co-ordinator Khalif Abdi said the conditions in Somalia must be conducive and sustainable before repatriation.
“Some of the refugees are returning to a country they have never been to because they were born in the camp,” he told Sabahi. “They need to have proper infrastructure to rebuild their lives.”
“Furthermore, any forceful repatriation can force some of the refugees to [join] the extremist group or the various clan militias in protest,” he said.
Nonetheless, Abdi said, the UNHCR and the Somali government should be laying the groundwork in preparation for receiving the returning refugees.
“This is the time to repair infrastructure and improve services that can support the returnees,” he said. “Other African countries should be able to contribute funds and resources to ensure that the lives of the returnees are at least smooth.”
UNHCR has identified the Somali towns of Baidoa in Bay region, Luuq in Gedo and parts of Kismayo in Lower Jubba region as priority areas where it can assist refugees in voluntary returns.
But Naima Hussein Sharraf, a 32-year-old refugee at Hagadera camp, said that many refugees still feel anxious about the prospect of repatriation because many of them fled persecution by al-Shabaab and feel it would not be safe for them to return yet.
“Repatriating the refugees before eradicating the group completely will be taking the refugees back to the tormentors,” she told Sabahi, urging UNHCR to facilitate the repatriation of only those refugees who are willing to return voluntarily.
Allafrica