Friday, March 30, 2012
NAIROBI, Kenya, March 30 (UPI) -- Kenyan authorities are called on to register Somali refugees rather than declare threatened areas are liberated from al-Shabaab, Human Rights Watch said.
"Fierce clashes in southern Somalia still pose a grave threat to civilians," said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement. "Instead of peddling false claims that the border areas are safe, Kenya should focus on assisting and protecting refugees."
Kenyan military officials working in support of an African Union force in Somalia said they were engaged with al-Shabaab fighters along the southern Somalia border during recent clashes.
Human Rights Watch notes that amid the fighting, authorities in Kenya have called on Somali refugees to return to their country and have established a safe zone for their safe passage.
The rights group said, however, fighting was ongoing and people were fleeing areas described by Kenyan authorities as liberated.
"Kenya's concerns and legal obligations are better met by registering, screening and protecting refugees, not by misrepresenting the security situation in Somalia," added Bekele.
Civilians in Somalia told Human Rights Watch recently that the security situation was tense because of abuses allegedly committed by forces allied with Ethiopian troops fighting in support of the Somali government.