Why is Kenya trying to close one of the world's biggest refugee camps? | The Stream

The fate of more than 400,000 people remains unclear after a court ruling temporarily blocked the closure of two huge refugee camps in Kenya.

The country's high court last week placed a stay of 30 days on a government plan to close the Dadaab and Kakuma camps, which mainly host refugees fleeing conflict in Somalia. The case will return to court after that period.

On March 24, Kenya gave the UN refugee agency an ultimatum: two weeks to come up with a plan to close the camps. The interior ministry said there was “no room for further negotiations”.

This isn’t the first time Kenyan authorities have tried to close the sprawling camps - among the world's biggest. The interior ministry in 2016 levelled a similar threat, citing national security concerns, but the high court at that time also blocked the closure calling it “unconstitutional”.

In this episode of The Stream, we take stock of what's different this time around.
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