Kenyan authorities said Sunday they had opened an investigation after protests over a proposed market damaged public facilities in Hagadera. Officials warned that service disruptions could affect refugees and nearby residents.
The Department of Refugee Services (DRS) said its Hagadera office was damaged, government equipment was stolen and nearby businesses were broken into during confrontations with security personnel. Police said demonstrators threw stones at officers and that several businesses closed.
Anadolu Agency reported that the protest began Saturday morning after refugee youths objected to a plan for a new market on vacant land. Mahat Mowlid, a community representative, alleged to Anadolu Agency that business interests opposed to the market project may have encouraged the protests despite earlier talks with refugee and host-community leaders.
The DRS said its Hagadera office supported refugees and host-community residents, and warned that the damage could disrupt its operations and strain relations in the area.
Figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) put Hagadera’s population above 145,000 refugees and asylum-seekers as of Oct. 31. Anadolu Agency reported that Somali families have lived in Dadaab across generations. The settlement opened in 1991 during Somalia’s civil war.
Officials said investigators are working to determine who was responsible, retrieve stolen property and prevent further violence. The government called for calm and dialogue.
