The Kenyan refugee camp in Dadaab, population 260,000, the largest in the world, will remain open on orders of the country's High Court despite efforts by the government to close it because it harbors "terrorism and other illegal activities."
About 140 Somalia refugees cleared to resettle in the U.S. and who had left the camp were recently returned to Dadeeb because the camp is affected by President Donald Trump's ban from seven predominately Muslim countries, which included Somalia, reported The Associated Press.
The Dadaab refugee camp was created in 1991 near the Kenya-Somalia border as a shelter to families fleeing from armed conflict in Somalia, according to BBC News, but now the camp is home to more than a quarter million Somali refugees, some of them living there for more than 20 years.
The Kenyan government says al-Shabab uses Dadaab as a recruiting and training ground for extremists who attack Kenya, but it has not presented any proof, said the AP.
"The camp had lost its humanitarian nature and had become a haven for terrorism and other illegal activities," said Kenyan government spokesman Eric Kiraithe. "The lives of Kenyans matter. Our interest in this case, and in the closure of Dadaab refugee camp, remains to protect the lives of Kenyans."
High Court Judge John Mativo ruled on Thursday, though, that closing Dadaab would violate Kenya's constitution, said CNN. Mativo charged that the government's plans for the camp's closure and refugee repatriation "arbitrary, discriminatory and undignifying and hence a violation of Articles 27 and 28 of the constitution and consequently the same is null and void."
The Kenyan government issued a statement Thursday, saying that it plans to appeal the court's decision.
"While we are still reviewing the ruling on this matter, and respect the rule of law, we would like to state that the Government will be appealing this ruling," the statement said. "The closure of (the) Dadaab camp has always drawn varying interest and opinions. However, we … have the cardinal responsibility of providing security for all Kenyans."
Somalia had collapsed into anarchy in 1991 and an internationally-backed unity government formed in 2000 struggled to regain control of the country from rival warlords, said BBC News. A new internationally-backed government was installed in 2012 but has continued to fight against forces loyal to Al-Qaeda-aligned Al-Shabab.
Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who has dual Somalia-U.S. citizenship, was elected president of Somalia on Wednesday, after two rounds of voting by members of parliament, according to USA Today.
It wasn't clear why the Somalia refugees were returned to Dadaab a day after a U.S. court order blocked Trump's ban, said the AP, noting that officials with the International Organization for Migration, which runs the transit center in Nairobi where the refugees had been waiting for their flights to the U.S., could not be reached for comment.
"How would you feel? One day you are telling friends bye, wishing them well, and the next you are back where you started," 28-year-old Nadir Hassan told thr AP by phone from the camp. "My home for 27 years was a refugee camp. I was hoping to start a new life in the U.S., get an education, a job, a life. We feel bad."
He said he had been on a waiting list to leave for about a decade.
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