The number of refugees fleeing to Kenya from Somalia increased sharply last month and could reach 50 000 by the end of the year, the UN refugee agency UNHCR warned Friday.
In September alone, 5,000 refugees crossed into north-eastern Kenya to escape fighting in central and southern Somalia, bringing to 25,000 the numbers so far.
More than 60 per cent of arrivals were under 18, the UNHCR said.
Most were crossing the border at Liboi but many were now turning up at Amuma, 80 kilometres to the south, before being taken by UNHCR to a camp complex at Dadaab which now holds 134,000 refugees.
The World Food Programme appealed for 8.1 million dollars, saying the worsening conflict served to boost numbers of refugees, further threatening to exhaust existing food supplies within a few weeks.
Without new funding, WFP warned it would have to cut food rations by 12 per cent in November and make further reductions in December.
Source: DPA, Sept 29, 2006
