Up to 150 people have drowned after their boat sank off the Libyan coast Thursday, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) confirmed. Around 300 people are believed to have embarked on the dangerous sea crossing from the Libyan port city of Al-Khums, 80 miles east of Tripoli, UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley said. The vessel got into trouble in the waters off the coast of Libya. Some passengers were rescued by local fishermen, who were later joined by the Libyan coastguard, he added.

Libya shipwreck survivor recounts tragedy

Japan's ambassador to Colombia said on Thursday (July 04) that his country would provide approximately 4,500,000 dollars to two United Nations agencies to help deal with the influx of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. Ambassador Keiichiro Morishita signed an agreement in Bogota on Thursday that would provide the funding to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Japan To Help Migrant Crisis In Colombia

An air strike hit a detention center for mainly African migrants in the Libyan capital Tripoli on July 2, killing over 44 people and wounding more than 130, the United Nations said. Watch this video to know more.

Libya detention centre attack: over 44 killed, 130 injured

The United Nations on Wednesday said that despite populist rhetoric in the West, the real refugee crisis is playing out in developing countries, which hosts most of the record 70.8 million displaced people who have fled war and persecution.

71 million people have fled their home or their country in 2018, UNHCR says

Hollywood star <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/angelina-jolie-pushes-for-women-to-be-part-of-afghan-peace-talks-206814">Angelina Jolie</a> on Saturday urged the international community to provide more support to three South American countries with the most migrants from crisis-hit Venezuela, saying 20,000 Venezuelan children are at risk of being without basic citizenship rights.

Jolie spoke in Colombia as a special envoy for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She is on a two-day trip to meet Venezuelan migrants there and met with Colombian President Ivan Duque in Cartagena.

Four million Venezuelan refugees and migrants have fled the economic and humanitarian crisis in their homeland.

More than a million are living in Colombia, where the government and aid agencies have scrambled to provide housing, food and healthcare to an ever-growing influx of migrants arriving in already-poor and violent border regions.

The parents of Venezuelan children born abroad often struggle to register their baby's birth, either because they do not have access to an ever-shrinking number of Venezuelan consulates or because they do not have migration papers.

"The president and I spoke of the risk of statelessness for more than 20,000 Venezuelan children, his commitment to always helping children," Academy Award-winner Jolie, 44, said at a press conference.

"We agreed on the urgent need for the international community to give more support to Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, who are bearing the brunt of this crisis."

Duque said he hoped the visit would alert the world to the seriousness of the migration crisis.

He, Jolie and UNHCR officials had a productive meeting on Saturday morning, Duque said, including a discussion about how to nationalize the stateless children.

Jolie visited Venezuelan migrants in Peru in October last year. She will conclude her visit in the desert border town of Maicao later on Saturday.

Venezuela's imploding economy has brought widespread shortages of basic foods and medicines, while political hostilities have led to waves of fatal violence.

The crisis has deepened since the United States imposed sanctions, including on the pivotal oil industry, in an effort to oust leftist President Nicolas Maduro in favour of opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Dozens of nations around the world recognize Guaido as interim president, saying Maduro rigged his 2018 re-election, but their support has not been enough to unseat Maduro, who still has the backing of the top military brass.

Maduro accuses his foes of plotting with Washington to bring about a coup.

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie on Saturday urged the international community to provide more support to three South American countries with the most migrants from crisis-hit Venezuela, saying 20,000 Venezuelan children are at risk of being without basic citizenship rights.

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie on Saturday urged the international community to provide more support to three South American countries with the most migrants from crisis-hit Venezuela, saying 20,000 Venezuelan children are at risk of being without basic citizenship rights. Jolie spoke in Colombia as a special envoy for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She is on a two-day trip to meet Venezuelan migrants there and met with Colombian President Ivan Duque in Cartagena. Four million Venezuelan refugees and migrants have fled the economic and humanitarian crisis in their homeland. More than a million are living in Colombia, where the government and aid agencies have scrambled to provide housing, food and healthcare to an ever-growing influx of migrants arriving in already-poor and violent border regions. The parents of Venezuelan children born abroad often struggle to register their baby's birth, either because they do not have access to an ever-shrinking number of Venezuelan consulates or because they do not have migration papers. "The president and I spoke of the risk of statelessness for more than 20,000 Venezuelan children, his commitment to always helping children," Academy Award-winner Jolie, 44, said at a press conference. "We agreed on the urgent need for the international community to give more support to Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, who are bearing the brunt of this crisis." Duque said he hoped the visit would alert the world to the seriousness of the migration crisis. He, Jolie and UNHCR officials had a productive meeting on Saturday morning, Duque said, including a discussion about how to nationalize the stateless children. Jolie visited Venezuelan migrants in Peru in October last year. She will conclude her visit in the desert border town of Maicao later on Saturday. Venezuela's imploding economy has brought widespread shortages of basic foods and medicines, while political hostilities have led to waves of fatal violence. The crisis has deepened since the United States imposed sanctions, including on the pivotal oil industry, in an effort to oust leftist President Nicolas Maduro in favour of opposition leader Juan Guaido. Dozens of nations around the world recognize Guaido as interim president, saying Maduro rigged his 2018 re-election, but their support has not been enough to unseat Maduro, who still has the backing of the top military brass. Maduro accuses his foes of plotting with Washington to bring about a coup.

Angelina Jolie urges international support for Venezuelan children

Bangladesh coast guards on Thursday stopped 58 <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/bangladesh-stops-84-rohingyas-from-perilous-sea-journey-219586">Rohingya refugees </a>from making a potentially dangerous journey to Malaysia by sea and arrested two suspected traffickers, an official said.

Acting on a tip-off, a patrol ship challenged a fishing boat near Saint Martin's, a small Bangladesh island in the Bay of Bengal, and found the Rohingya on board, coast guard Lieutenant Josel Rana said.

"We've found 58 refugees and detained two human traffickers on the boat," he told AFP.

About 740,000 Muslim minority Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since a brutal military crackdown in the Buddhist-majority nation began in August 2017.

Thousands of refugees attempt to flee the camps each year in pursuit of better opportunities in countries such as Malaysia and Thailand.

So far this year, law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh have rescued over 400 Rohingya refugees from coastal villages as they were waiting to board boats bound for Malaysia.

But this is the first time in 2019 that Rohingya refugees were rescued at sea, raising concerns that the situation in Bangladesh's overcrowded camps -- home to nearly one million -- is worsening.

"Such incidents will continue as desperation among the refugees is on the rise," said Emdadul Haq, a professor at the private North South University in Dhaka. Rana said most of the refugees picked up by the coast guard were from the Kutupalong camp -- the largest refugee settlement in the world.

Most attempts the journey before March when the sea is calm before the monsoon season sets in, but experts say traffickers are now convincing the refugees to attempt the trip even in rough waters.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has said the vulnerability of Rohingya to trafficking has increased enormously as livelihoods, support networks, and other fundamental systems are disrupted.&nbsp;

Bangladesh coast guards on Thursday stopped 58 Rohingya refugees from making a potentially dangerous journey to Malaysia by sea and arrested two suspected traffickers, an official said.

Bangladesh coast guards on Thursday stopped 58 Rohingya refugees from making a potentially dangerous journey to Malaysia by sea and arrested two suspected traffickers, an official said. Acting on a tip-off, a patrol ship challenged a fishing boat near Saint Martin's, a small Bangladesh island in the Bay of Bengal, and found the Rohingya on board, coast guard Lieutenant Josel Rana said. "We've found 58 refugees and detained two human traffickers on the boat," he told AFP. About 740,000 Muslim minority Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since a brutal military crackdown in the Buddhist-majority nation began in August 2017. Thousands of refugees attempt to flee the camps each year in pursuit of better opportunities in countries such as Malaysia and Thailand. So far this year, law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh have rescued over 400 Rohingya refugees from coastal villages as they were waiting to board boats bound for Malaysia. But this is the first time in 2019 that Rohingya refugees were rescued at sea, raising concerns that the situation in Bangladesh's overcrowded camps -- home to nearly one million -- is worsening. "Such incidents will continue as desperation among the refugees is on the rise," said Emdadul Haq, a professor at the private North South University in Dhaka. Rana said most of the refugees picked up by the coast guard were from the Kutupalong camp -- the largest refugee settlement in the world. Most attempts the journey before March when the sea is calm before the monsoon season sets in, but experts say traffickers are now convincing the refugees to attempt the trip even in rough waters. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has said the vulnerability of Rohingya to trafficking has increased enormously as livelihoods, support networks, and other fundamental systems are disrupted.

Bangladesh picks up 58 Malaysia-bound Rohingya at sea

Myanmar must "show results" to convince Rohingya refugees to return, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Friday at the end of his first visit to Myanmar since the crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2017.

A brutal military campaign in western Rakhine state forced some 740,000 Rohingya over the border into Bangladesh.

Around one million Rohingya now languish in sprawling refugee camps from various waves of persecution.

A UN fact-finding mission called for Myanmar’s top generals to be prosecuted for "genocide" and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has started preliminary investigations.

During his visit Grandi spoke with both Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist communities in Maungdaw and Buthidaung in northern Rakhine, the epicentre of the violence.&nbsp;

He also held discussions with officials in capital Naypyidaw, including civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, describing all talks as "constructive".

"My message is, 'please accelerate', because it has been very slow in the implementation in this first year. We need to show results," he told AFP in an interview in Yangon.

"This is not enough to convince people to come back," he said.

Grandi visited the camps in Bangladesh in April.

The two countries have signed a repatriation agreement but so far virtually no refugees have returned, fearing for their safety and unconvinced they will be granted citizenship.

Myanmar pejoratively labels the Rohingya as "Bengali", implying they are illegal interlopers and the community has had its rights eroded over decades.

Gaining independent access to northern Rakhine is difficult with most journalists, observers and diplomats only allowed on brief chaperoned visits.

Grandi defended the UNHCR’s involvement in a plan by the Bangladeshi government to move some 100,000 refugees onto low-lying island Bhashan Char.

The area in the Bay of Bengal is prone to flooding and cyclones.

Rights groups oppose the scheme that has also so far been universally rejected by the Rohingya themselves.

The refugee agency must be "involved" to have the necessary information in order to take a stance on the issue, Grandi said.

"We’re still at that stage, no more than that."

He also visited camps near Rakhine’s capital Sittwe, where nearly 130,000 Rohingya have been confined since a previous bout of violence in 2012.

Myanmar has announced it will close the camps but many are sceptical the displaced will enjoy more freedoms.

Grandi said the UNHCR would reconsider its role in providing services if conditions did not substantially improve.

"To simply transform the camps, upgrade the camps, upgrade the houses, for example, but leave them in the same situation will not be a solution," he said.

Myanmar must "show results" to convince Rohingya refugees to return, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Friday at the end of his first visit to Myanmar since the crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2017.

Myanmar must "show results" to convince Rohingya refugees to return, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Friday at the end of his first visit to Myanmar since the crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2017. A brutal military campaign in western Rakhine state forced some 740,000 Rohingya over the border into Bangladesh. Around one million Rohingya now languish in sprawling refugee camps from various waves of persecution. A UN fact-finding mission called for Myanmar’s top generals to be prosecuted for "genocide" and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has started preliminary investigations. During his visit Grandi spoke with both Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist communities in Maungdaw and Buthidaung in northern Rakhine, the epicentre of the violence. He also held discussions with officials in capital Naypyidaw, including civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, describing all talks as "constructive". "My message is, 'please accelerate', because it has been very slow in the implementation in this first year. We need to show results," he told AFP in an interview in Yangon. "This is not enough to convince people to come back," he said. Grandi visited the camps in Bangladesh in April. The two countries have signed a repatriation agreement but so far virtually no refugees have returned, fearing for their safety and unconvinced they will be granted citizenship. Myanmar pejoratively labels the Rohingya as "Bengali", implying they are illegal interlopers and the community has had its rights eroded over decades. Gaining independent access to northern Rakhine is difficult with most journalists, observers and diplomats only allowed on brief chaperoned visits. Grandi defended the UNHCR’s involvement in a plan by the Bangladeshi government to move some 100,000 refugees onto low-lying island Bhashan Char. The area in the Bay of Bengal is prone to flooding and cyclones. Rights groups oppose the scheme that has also so far been universally rejected by the Rohingya themselves. The refugee agency must be "involved" to have the necessary information in order to take a stance on the issue, Grandi said. "We’re still at that stage, no more than that." He also visited camps near Rakhine’s capital Sittwe, where nearly 130,000 Rohingya have been confined since a previous bout of violence in 2012. Myanmar has announced it will close the camps but many are sceptical the displaced will enjoy more freedoms. Grandi said the UNHCR would reconsider its role in providing services if conditions did not substantially improve. "To simply transform the camps, upgrade the camps, upgrade the houses, for example, but leave them in the same situation will not be a solution," he said.

'Results' needed from Myanmar over Rohingya return: UNHCR head

Humanitarian groups including the Norwegian Council for Refugees and the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said European states needed to do more in preventing the deaths of migrants after at least 65 people drowned crossing the Mediterranean Sea on Friday. Watch the full video to know more.

Humanitarian groups condemn European states after migrant deaths

The UN has said an <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/australian-minister-hints-humanitarian-asylum-for-saudi-teen-in-bangkok-189116">18-year-old Saudi woman</a> who fled her family is a legitimate refugee and has asked Australia to resettle her, Canberra said Wednesday, as the Twitter-led campaign to grant her asylum edged towards resolution.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/australia-to-carefully-consider-saudi-womans-asylum-plea-188996">Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun</a> was stopped by authorities at Bangkok's main airport as she arrived on a flight from Kuwait at the weekend after running away from her family, who she says subjected her to physical and psychological abuse.

Thailand initially said it would deport her at the request of Saudi embassy officials, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/asylum-assessment-of-saudi-women-in-thailand-to-take-days-unhcr-188943">barring her from travelling on to Australia where </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/asylum-assessment-of-saudi-women-in-thailand-to-take-days-unhcr-188943">Qunun</a>&nbsp;said she had intended to claim asylum.

But armed with a phone, she barricaded herself into an airside hotel room and fought back — live-tweeting her fears of deportation in a campaign that swiftly galvanised international support and prompted a sharp U-turn by Thai officials.

Qunun is now in the care of the UN's refugee agency in Bangkok, which is processing her case.

"The UNHCR has referred Ms Rahaf Mohammed Al-Qunun to Australia for consideration for refugee resettlement," Australia's Department of Home Affairs confirmed in a statement.

The department said it would "consider this referral in the usual way, as it does with all UNHCR referrals".

Australian officials have strongly hinted that Qunun's request will be accepted.

"If she is found to be a refugee, then we will give very, very, very serious consideration to a humanitarian visa," health minister Greg Hunt had said before the UN determination was public.

Tweet to victory&nbsp;

Qunun's desperate tweets ricocheted across social media with the #SaveRahaf hashtag drawing an outpouring of support but also the bile of some hardliners in her native country.

She only joined the social media site at the start of this month but has quickly racked up more than 100,000 followers.

Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch said Qunun had renounced Islam, which puts her at "serious risk" of prosecution in Saudi Arabia.

Her father and brother arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday, but Qunun "refused to see" them, according to Thai immigration police chief Surachate Hakparn, who has been caught up in the international firestorm since Qunun's arrival.

The father met with the UNHCR Wednesday morning and spoke with Surachate in the afternoon for an hour, the immigration head said at a press conference.

He denied abusing or threatening her, and told Surachate that Qunun had "freedom".

"He wants to take his daughter back home, her mother fell sick after hearing her daughter ran away," Surachate said.

Qunun's father told the UNHCR about his objections to her fleeing and would remain in Thailand until a decision was made, Surachate said, adding that this might come on Thursday.

A UNHCR representative told AFP "the process is still ongoing".

On Sunday Qunun told AFP her family was "abusive" and once locked her in a room for six months just for cutting her hair.

Fleeing them while travelling in Kuwait throws her into conflict with Saudi Arabia's "guardianship" system, which allows male family members to make decisions on behalf of female relatives, she said.

That makes it "100 percent" certain she would be killed by her family if she was returned to Saudi, she added.

Footage released by Thai immigration shows Abdulilah al-Shouaibi, Saudi embassy charge d'affaires in Bangkok, complaining in a meeting Tuesday with Surachate that Qunun's smartphone should have been confiscated.

"When she arrived, she open a new (Twitter) account and her followers grew to 45,000 in one day," he said in Arabic.

"It would have been better if they had confiscated her mobile instead of her passport."

The Saudi embassy in Bangkok said it "did not demand her deportation" and that the case was "a family affair".

By Wednesday afternoon, Qunun had returned to posting updates on Twitter, promising to "broadcast continuously to assure" the public of her condition.

"I have prepared my strength and will continue my journey to reach a safe country," she tweeted in Arabic.&nbsp;

"Don't let anyone break your wings, you're free," she tweeted in English. "fight and get your RIGHTS!"

Amnesty International's Middle East director of campaigns Samah Hadid said Rahaf's story "became an inspiration to millions worldwide", but added that Thailand has often "breached their responsibilities" to asylum seekers and refugees.&nbsp;

"The humanity shown to Rahaf must not be a one-off," said Hadid.

Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia has come under fire since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the country's consulate in Istanbul last year.

The UN has said an 18-year-old Saudi woman who fled her family is a legitimate refugee and has asked Australia to resettle her, Canberra said Wednesday, as the Twitter-led campaign to grant her asylum edged towards resolution.

The UN has said an 18-year-old Saudi woman who fled her family is a legitimate refugee and has asked Australia to resettle her, Canberra said Wednesday, as the Twitter-led campaign to grant her asylum edged towards resolution. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun was stopped by authorities at Bangkok's main airport as she arrived on a flight from Kuwait at the weekend after running away from her family, who she says subjected her to physical and psychological abuse. Thailand initially said it would deport her at the request of Saudi embassy officials, barring her from travelling on to Australia where Qunun said she had intended to claim asylum. But armed with a phone, she barricaded herself into an airside hotel room and fought back — live-tweeting her fears of deportation in a campaign that swiftly galvanised international support and prompted a sharp U-turn by Thai officials. Qunun is now in the care of the UN's refugee agency in Bangkok, which is processing her case. "The UNHCR has referred Ms Rahaf Mohammed Al-Qunun to Australia for consideration for refugee resettlement," Australia's Department of Home Affairs confirmed in a statement. The department said it would "consider this referral in the usual way, as it does with all UNHCR referrals". Australian officials have strongly hinted that Qunun's request will be accepted. "If she is found to be a refugee, then we will give very, very, very serious consideration to a humanitarian visa," health minister Greg Hunt had said before the UN determination was public. Tweet to victory Qunun's desperate tweets ricocheted across social media with the #SaveRahaf hashtag drawing an outpouring of support but also the bile of some hardliners in her native country. She only joined the social media site at the start of this month but has quickly racked up more than 100,000 followers. Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch said Qunun had renounced Islam, which puts her at "serious risk" of prosecution in Saudi Arabia. Her father and brother arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday, but Qunun "refused to see" them, according to Thai immigration police chief Surachate Hakparn, who has been caught up in the international firestorm since Qunun's arrival. The father met with the UNHCR Wednesday morning and spoke with Surachate in the afternoon for an hour, the immigration head said at a press conference. He denied abusing or threatening her, and told Surachate that Qunun had "freedom". "He wants to take his daughter back home, her mother fell sick after hearing her daughter ran away," Surachate said. Qunun's father told the UNHCR about his objections to her fleeing and would remain in Thailand until a decision was made, Surachate said, adding that this might come on Thursday. A UNHCR representative told AFP "the process is still ongoing". On Sunday Qunun told AFP her family was "abusive" and once locked her in a room for six months just for cutting her hair. Fleeing them while travelling in Kuwait throws her into conflict with Saudi Arabia's "guardianship" system, which allows male family members to make decisions on behalf of female relatives, she said. That makes it "100 percent" certain she would be killed by her family if she was returned to Saudi, she added. Footage released by Thai immigration shows Abdulilah al-Shouaibi, Saudi embassy charge d'affaires in Bangkok, complaining in a meeting Tuesday with Surachate that Qunun's smartphone should have been confiscated. "When she arrived, she open a new (Twitter) account and her followers grew to 45,000 in one day," he said in Arabic. "It would have been better if they had confiscated her mobile instead of her passport." The Saudi embassy in Bangkok said it "did not demand her deportation" and that the case was "a family affair". By Wednesday afternoon, Qunun had returned to posting updates on Twitter, promising to "broadcast continuously to assure" the public of her condition. "I have prepared my strength and will continue my journey to reach a safe country," she tweeted in Arabic. "Don't let anyone break your wings, you're free," she tweeted in English. "fight and get your RIGHTS!" Amnesty International's Middle East director of campaigns Samah Hadid said Rahaf's story "became an inspiration to millions worldwide", but added that Thailand has often "breached their responsibilities" to asylum seekers and refugees. "The humanity shown to Rahaf must not be a one-off," said Hadid. Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia has come under fire since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the country's consulate in Istanbul last year.

UN says Saudi teen is legitimate refugee, asks Australia to resettle her

The asylum claim of a young Saudi woman who resisted deportation from Thailand in a gripping, live-tweeted ordeal will take "several days" to assess, the UN's refugee agency in Bangkok said Tuesday.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/saudi-woman-has-left-bangkok-airport-under-care-of-un-agency-thai-official-188859">Rahaf Mohammed al-</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/saudi-woman-has-left-bangkok-airport-under-care-of-un-agency-thai-official-188859">Qunun</a> arrived at Bangkok's main airport over the weekend on a flight from Kuwait after running away from her family who she alleges subjected her to physical and psychological abuse.

The 18-year-old said she had planned to seek asylum in Australia, fearing she would be killed if sent back by Thai immigration officials who stopped her at the airport on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia's parlous rights record has been under heavy scrutiny since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.

Initially, Thai authorities said Qunun would be sent back to Saudi Arabia.

But as her plight pinballed across social media — including tweets about how she had barricaded herself in a hotel room — they abruptly changed course and allowed her to leave the airport late Monday in UNHCR's care.

The agency said it was "very grateful" that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/saudi-teen-barricades-herself-in-thai-hotel-to-stop-being-returned-to-family-188799">officials did not send Qunun back against her will</a>.

"It could take several days to process the case and determine next steps," the UNHCR representative in Thailand, Giuseppe de Vicentiis, said in a statement.

Thailand is not a signatory to a UN convention on refugees, and asylum seekers are typically deported or wait years to be resettled in third countries.

The UNHCR insists anyone with an asylum claim should not be sent back to the country they fled under the principle of non-refoulement.

Saudi Arabia's embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

But in an extensive explanation released on Twitter, the embassy denied sending officials to Suvarnabhumi airport to meet Qunun as she arrived from Kuwait, where her family lives.

It also said her passport had not been impounded as alleged while explaining it is in contact with her father, a senior regional government official in the kingdom, "to inform him on her situation".

Another official told a Saudi-owned TV channel that Qunun's father had contacted the mission for "help" in bringing her back.

Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia has some of the world's toughest restrictions on women, including a guardianship system that allows male family members to make decisions on behalf of female relatives.

Qunun has said she believes she will be imprisoned or killed if sent back and that her family is so strict it once locked her in a room for six months for cutting her hair.

Under the hashtag #SaveRahaf, the young woman's desperate pleas became a social media sensation, where she was able to post live updates and videos from the Bangkok airport in both Arabic and English, racking up more than 80,000 followers.

Late Monday, her Twitter account said that her father had arrived in Bangkok. AFP was not able to independently verify the news.

Thailand is not a signatory to a UN convention on refugees, and asylum seekers are typically deported or wait years to be resettled in third countries.

The asylum claim of a young Saudi woman who resisted deportation from Thailand in a gripping, live-tweeted ordeal will take "several days" to assess, the UN's refugee agency in Bangkok said Tuesday. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun arrived at Bangkok's main airport over the weekend on a flight from Kuwait after running away from her family who she alleges subjected her to physical and psychological abuse. The 18-year-old said she had planned to seek asylum in Australia, fearing she would be killed if sent back by Thai immigration officials who stopped her at the airport on Sunday. Saudi Arabia's parlous rights record has been under heavy scrutiny since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year. Initially, Thai authorities said Qunun would be sent back to Saudi Arabia. But as her plight pinballed across social media — including tweets about how she had barricaded herself in a hotel room — they abruptly changed course and allowed her to leave the airport late Monday in UNHCR's care. The agency said it was "very grateful" that officials did not send Qunun back against her will. "It could take several days to process the case and determine next steps," the UNHCR representative in Thailand, Giuseppe de Vicentiis, said in a statement. Thailand is not a signatory to a UN convention on refugees, and asylum seekers are typically deported or wait years to be resettled in third countries. The UNHCR insists anyone with an asylum claim should not be sent back to the country they fled under the principle of non-refoulement. Saudi Arabia's embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. But in an extensive explanation released on Twitter, the embassy denied sending officials to Suvarnabhumi airport to meet Qunun as she arrived from Kuwait, where her family lives. It also said her passport had not been impounded as alleged while explaining it is in contact with her father, a senior regional government official in the kingdom, "to inform him on her situation". Another official told a Saudi-owned TV channel that Qunun's father had contacted the mission for "help" in bringing her back. Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia has some of the world's toughest restrictions on women, including a guardianship system that allows male family members to make decisions on behalf of female relatives. Qunun has said she believes she will be imprisoned or killed if sent back and that her family is so strict it once locked her in a room for six months for cutting her hair. Under the hashtag #SaveRahaf, the young woman's desperate pleas became a social media sensation, where she was able to post live updates and videos from the Bangkok airport in both Arabic and English, racking up more than 80,000 followers. Late Monday, her Twitter account said that her father had arrived in Bangkok. AFP was not able to independently verify the news.

Asylum assessment of Saudi woman in Thailand to take days: UNHCR

Australia on Tuesday vowed to consider an <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/saudi-woman-has-left-bangkok-airport-under-care-of-un-agency-thai-official-188859">18-year-old Saudi woman's plea</a> for asylum, further easing fears she could be forcibly returned home.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/asylum-assessment-of-saudi-women-in-thailand-to-take-days-unhcr-188943">Rahaf Mohammed Al-</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/asylum-assessment-of-saudi-women-in-thailand-to-take-days-unhcr-188943">Qunun's</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/asylum-assessment-of-saudi-women-in-thailand-to-take-days-unhcr-188943"> desperate bid</a> to reach Australia will be "carefully considered" if the United Nations deems she is at risk, an official told AFP.

Qunun, fleeing alleged abuse by her conservative family, says she tried to reach Australia on a tourist visa.

But she was stopped en route by authorities in Thailand at the request of the Saudi government, which demanded the woman return to her family.

Qunun barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room, refusing to leave and posting determined calls for asylum on social media to draw attention to her plight.

She is currently being assessed by the UN's refugee agency.&nbsp;

Human rights activists had expressed concerns that Australia's government — which takes a hard line on immigration — may revoke her tourist visa.

The official did not confirm or deny if the visa had been revoked but said it would make no difference to her bid to reach Australia.

"Any application by Ms Al-Qunun for a humanitarian visa will be carefully considered once the UNHCR process has concluded," the official said.

"Whether someone holds a visitor visa does not have a bearing on this process."

Australia had quietly pressed authorities in Thailand to grant the UN access to Qunun, and now wants the matter dealt with quickly.

"The government has made representations to the Thai government and the Bangkok office of the UNHCR about its serious concerns on this matter and the need for Ms Al-Qunun's claim to be assessed expeditiously," the official said.

Australia on Tuesday vowed to consider an 18-year-old Saudi woman's plea for asylum, further easing fears she could be forcibly returned home. Rahaf Mohammed Al-Qunun's desperate bid to reach Australia will be "carefully considered" if the United Nations deems she is at risk, an official told AFP.

Australia on Tuesday vowed to consider an 18-year-old Saudi woman's plea for asylum, further easing fears she could be forcibly returned home. Rahaf Mohammed Al-Qunun's desperate bid to reach Australia will be "carefully considered" if the United Nations deems she is at risk, an official told AFP. Qunun, fleeing alleged abuse by her conservative family, says she tried to reach Australia on a tourist visa. But she was stopped en route by authorities in Thailand at the request of the Saudi government, which demanded the woman return to her family. Qunun barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room, refusing to leave and posting determined calls for asylum on social media to draw attention to her plight. She is currently being assessed by the UN's refugee agency. Human rights activists had expressed concerns that Australia's government — which takes a hard line on immigration — may revoke her tourist visa. The official did not confirm or deny if the visa had been revoked but said it would make no difference to her bid to reach Australia. "Any application by Ms Al-Qunun for a humanitarian visa will be carefully considered once the UNHCR process has concluded," the official said. "Whether someone holds a visitor visa does not have a bearing on this process." Australia had quietly pressed authorities in Thailand to grant the UN access to Qunun, and now wants the matter dealt with quickly. "The government has made representations to the Thai government and the Bangkok office of the UNHCR about its serious concerns on this matter and the need for Ms Al-Qunun's claim to be assessed expeditiously," the official said.

Australia says it will 'carefully consider' Saudi woman's asylum plea

The UN refugee agency has expressed regret over India's decision to repatriate a group of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/rohingya-repatriation-relocation-plans-to-be-pushed-back-to-2019-bangladesh-official-178126">Rohingya to Myanmar</a>, saying it has sought clarification from India on the circumstances under which the asylum seekers were sent back, voicing concern over the unconducive conditions for such returns.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Friday that it "regrets <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-to-deport-second-rohingya-group-to-myanmar-on-thursday-188020">India's decision to repatriate</a> a family of Rohingya asylum seekers to Myanmar, the second such return in three months," Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq told reporters at the daily press briefing.

The UN refugee agency said a family of Rohingya asylum-seekers from Rakhine State, registered with UNHCR in India, was sent back to Myanmar on Thursday after being detained in Assam, where they had been serving a prison term since 2013 for illegal entry into India.

The agency said despite repeated requests, it did not receive a response from the authorities in India regarding requests for access to individuals in detention to ascertain their circumstances and to assess the voluntariness of their decision to return.&nbsp;

Noting that this was the second such incident since October 2018, when India returned seven Rohingya men to Rakhine State in Myanmar, the agency said conditions are not conducive for return of Rohingya to Myanmar.

"UNHCR continues to request access and seek clarification on the circumstances under which the return has taken place,"&nbsp;the agency added.

There are an estimated 18,000 Rohingya refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR in India, living across different locations.

Responding to a question on the Rohingya being returned to Myanmar, Haq said the UN wants to ensure that whenever any family is returned, the nature of the return was voluntary. "And UNHCR was not able to assess the voluntary nature of that return, and so they are very concerned about this," he said.

When asked if the Secretary-General intends to talk directly to India over the issue since the UN refugee agency has "failed", Haq replied "I wouldn't say that UNHCR has failed. What I would say is that there's movements on the ground about which they are concerned, but they are in charge of this particular file, and we'll see how it goes with their efforts."&nbsp;

Assam Additional Director General of Police (Border) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta has said in Guwahati that the five members of the Rohingya family were handed over to the Myanmarese authorities along the International Border in Manipur.&nbsp;

"They were apprehended about five years ago without any travel document and were booked for violating the Foreigners Act,"&nbsp;Mahanta has said.&nbsp;

The UN refugee agency has expressed regret over India's decision to repatriate a group of Rohingya to Myanmar, saying it has sought clarification from India on the circumstances under which the asylum seekers were sent back, voicing concern over the unconducive conditions for such returns.

The UN refugee agency has expressed regret over India's decision to repatriate a group of Rohingya to Myanmar, saying it has sought clarification from India on the circumstances under which the asylum seekers were sent back, voicing concern over the unconducive conditions for such returns. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Friday that it "regrets India's decision to repatriate a family of Rohingya asylum seekers to Myanmar, the second such return in three months," Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq told reporters at the daily press briefing. The UN refugee agency said a family of Rohingya asylum-seekers from Rakhine State, registered with UNHCR in India, was sent back to Myanmar on Thursday after being detained in Assam, where they had been serving a prison term since 2013 for illegal entry into India. The agency said despite repeated requests, it did not receive a response from the authorities in India regarding requests for access to individuals in detention to ascertain their circumstances and to assess the voluntariness of their decision to return. Noting that this was the second such incident since October 2018, when India returned seven Rohingya men to Rakhine State in Myanmar, the agency said conditions are not conducive for return of Rohingya to Myanmar. "UNHCR continues to request access and seek clarification on the circumstances under which the return has taken place," the agency added. There are an estimated 18,000 Rohingya refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR in India, living across different locations. Responding to a question on the Rohingya being returned to Myanmar, Haq said the UN wants to ensure that whenever any family is returned, the nature of the return was voluntary. "And UNHCR was not able to assess the voluntary nature of that return, and so they are very concerned about this," he said. When asked if the Secretary-General intends to talk directly to India over the issue since the UN refugee agency has "failed", Haq replied "I wouldn't say that UNHCR has failed. What I would say is that there's movements on the ground about which they are concerned, but they are in charge of this particular file, and we'll see how it goes with their efforts." Assam Additional Director General of Police (Border) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta has said in Guwahati that the five members of the Rohingya family were handed over to the Myanmarese authorities along the International Border in Manipur. "They were apprehended about five years ago without any travel document and were booked for violating the Foreigners Act," Mahanta has said.

UNHCR seeks clarification from India over repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar

Up to 250,000 Syrian refugees could return to their devastated homeland in 2019, while many others face problems with documentation and property that the Damascus government must help resolve, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday.

Some 5.6 million Syrian refugees remain in neighbouring countries - Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq - Amin Awad, UNHCR director for the Middle East and North Africa, told a news briefing. Some 37,000 have returned this year, UNHCR figures show.

"We are forecasting in this phase up to 250,000 Syrians go back in 2019. That figure can go up and down according to the pace with which we are working and removing these obstacles to return," Awad said.

Up to 250,000 Syrian refugees could return to their devastated homeland in 2019, while many others face problems with documentation and property that the Damascus government must help resolve, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday.

Up to 250,000 Syrian refugees could return to their devastated homeland in 2019, while many others face problems with documentation and property that the Damascus government must help resolve, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday. Some 5.6 million Syrian refugees remain in neighbouring countries - Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq - Amin Awad, UNHCR director for the Middle East and North Africa, told a news briefing. Some 37,000 have returned this year, UNHCR figures show. "We are forecasting in this phase up to 250,000 Syrians go back in 2019. That figure can go up and down according to the pace with which we are working and removing these obstacles to return," Awad said.

250,000 Syrian refugees could return home next year: UNHCR

This decade has seen massive movements of people fleeing war, poverty and persecution. Here are some key cases.

Since 2011: Syria&nbsp;

The Syrian war has killed more than 360,000 people since it began in March 2011 and it has led to a massive exodus of people, mostly to camps in neighbouring countries.

More than half the country's 23 million population has fled, with 6.6 million of those internally displaced and more than 5.6 million going abroad.

Turkey took in the biggest number, with the UN refugee agency UNHCR registering more than 3.6 million there, followed by Lebanon with less than a million (Beirut says it is 1.5 million) and Jordan with 673,000 (1.3 million according to Amman).&nbsp;

Hundreds of thousands of<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/pope-lights-candle-for-children-of-syria-180981"> Syrians</a> have also fled to Europe, and most notably to Germany.

2013-2018: South Sudan 

Independent since 2011, South Sudan became mired in civil war in 2013 that lasted five years and left more than 380,000 people dead and forced some 4.2 million people&nbsp;a third of the population to flee.

The UNHCR says nearly 2.2 million have left the country and are now spread across neighbouring countries in Uganda (785,000), Sudan (764,000) and Ethiopia (422,000).&nbsp;

2015: Mediterranean 

The massive and regular arrival of migrants via the Mediterranean and into Europe over recent years has provoked a major crisis in the bloc with some member countries adopting particularly tough new measures.&nbsp;

After a peak in 2015 of more than one million migrants landing on Europe's shores from the Mediterranean, the numbers have dropped to more than 362,000 in 2016, 172,000 in 2017 and 132,000 since the start of 2018.

Of those who have arrived in 2018, 108,400 have reached Europe by the sea, according to the International Organization for Migration. Some 2,130 died making the journey.

There have been some flashpoints, including the controversy over the 629 migrants aboard the Aquarius rescue ship stranded in the Mediterranean after Italy and Malta refused to let it dock.

Policy on migration has been one of the major points of friction between countries in the bloc.

Since 2015: Venezuela&nbsp;

The United Nations says some three million Venezuelans are now living abroad, 2.3 million of whom have moved since 2015, fleeing the country's severe economic, political and social crisis.&nbsp;

Neighbouring Colombia, which shares a border of 2,200 kilometres (1,367 miles) with<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/mattis-condemns-venezuelas-maduro-as-a-despot-who-has-to-go-180957"> Venezuela,</a> has taken in the most, around one million, followed by Peru (at least 550,000) and Ecuador, with around 300,000.

The exodus of the Venezuelans is, according to the UNHCR the most massive displacement of people in recent Latin American history.

2018: Honduras&nbsp;

A caravan of thousands of migrants mostly from Honduras left the Central American country to escape violence and poverty and by mid-November, they had reached the US border.&nbsp;

Other caravans coming from Central America joined them and other migrants travelled by foot and hitchhiked to cover the thousands of miles in the hope of being granted the status of refugee in the US.

Some 6,000 people gathered in the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/migrants-at-us-border-say-they-will-cross-over-despite-trump-stance-179282">Mexican city of Tijuana </a>but were unable to cross the border after US President Donald Trump deployed thousands of soldiers who forced a number of migrants to turn back.

This decade has seen massive movements of people fleeing war, poverty and persecution. Here are some key cases. Since 2011: Syria The Syrian war has killed more than 360,000 people since it began in March 2011 and it has led to a massive exodus of people, mostly to camps in neighbouring countries.

This decade has seen massive movements of people fleeing war, poverty and persecution. Here are some key cases. Since 2011: Syria The Syrian war has killed more than 360,000 people since it began in March 2011 and it has led to a massive exodus of people, mostly to camps in neighbouring countries. More than half the country's 23 million population has fled, with 6.6 million of those internally displaced and more than 5.6 million going abroad. Turkey took in the biggest number, with the UN refugee agency UNHCR registering more than 3.6 million there, followed by Lebanon with less than a million (Beirut says it is 1.5 million) and Jordan with 673,000 (1.3 million according to Amman). Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have also fled to Europe, and most notably to Germany. 2013-2018: South Sudan Independent since 2011, South Sudan became mired in civil war in 2013 that lasted five years and left more than 380,000 people dead and forced some 4.2 million people a third of the population to flee. The UNHCR says nearly 2.2 million have left the country and are now spread across neighbouring countries in Uganda (785,000), Sudan (764,000) and Ethiopia (422,000). 2015: Mediterranean The massive and regular arrival of migrants via the Mediterranean and into Europe over recent years has provoked a major crisis in the bloc with some member countries adopting particularly tough new measures. After a peak in 2015 of more than one million migrants landing on Europe's shores from the Mediterranean, the numbers have dropped to more than 362,000 in 2016, 172,000 in 2017 and 132,000 since the start of 2018. Of those who have arrived in 2018, 108,400 have reached Europe by the sea, according to the International Organization for Migration. Some 2,130 died making the journey. There have been some flashpoints, including the controversy over the 629 migrants aboard the Aquarius rescue ship stranded in the Mediterranean after Italy and Malta refused to let it dock. Policy on migration has been one of the major points of friction between countries in the bloc. Since 2015: Venezuela The United Nations says some three million Venezuelans are now living abroad, 2.3 million of whom have moved since 2015, fleeing the country's severe economic, political and social crisis. Neighbouring Colombia, which shares a border of 2,200 kilometres (1,367 miles) with Venezuela, has taken in the most, around one million, followed by Peru (at least 550,000) and Ecuador, with around 300,000. The exodus of the Venezuelans is, according to the UNHCR the most massive displacement of people in recent Latin American history. 2018: Honduras A caravan of thousands of migrants mostly from Honduras left the Central American country to escape violence and poverty and by mid-November, they had reached the US border. Other caravans coming from Central America joined them and other migrants travelled by foot and hitchhiked to cover the thousands of miles in the hope of being granted the status of refugee in the US. Some 6,000 people gathered in the Mexican city of Tijuana but were unable to cross the border after US President Donald Trump deployed thousands of soldiers who forced a number of migrants to turn back.

Major migration flows in the last decade

The Home Secretary of National Human Rights Commission Rajiv Gauba said that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was suspended in various parts of the country.

While addressing the International Human Rights Conclave on Monday he said the AFSPA was lifted from many states after the improved security scenario.

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We have been reviewing Armed Forces Special Powers Act in various parts of the country&amp;in response to the improvement in security scenario, it has been lifted from many states: Rajiv Gauba, Home Secretary at NHRC, International Human Rights Conclave <a href="https://t.co/PjkOoFJA0n">pic.twitter.com/PjkOoFJA0n</a>
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"We have been reviewing Armed Forces Special Powers Act in various parts of the country and in response to the improvement in security scenario, it has been lifted from many states", he said.

He further said, "In our endeavour to protect human rights, we must not lose sight of the stark ground realities of the internal security scenario and the constraints under which the security forces operate and the overall resources, positions of the central and state governments".

We have also taken steps to mainstream and sensitise human rights in officers' training courses. I think we need to be equally vigilant to protect legal rights of the security personnel.They need reassurance that their life and rights are also equally precious".

The Home Secretary of National Human Rights Commission Rajiv Gauba said that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was suspended in various parts of the country.

The Home Secretary of National Human Rights Commission Rajiv Gauba said that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was suspended in various parts of the country. While addressing the International Human Rights Conclave on Monday he said the AFSPA was lifted from many states after the improved security scenario. We have been reviewing Armed Forces Special Powers Act in various parts of the country&in response to the improvement in security scenario, it has been lifted from many states: Rajiv Gauba, Home Secretary at NHRC, International Human Rights Conclave pic.twitter.com/PjkOoFJA0n — ANI (@ANI) October 1, 2018 × "We have been reviewing Armed Forces Special Powers Act in various parts of the country and in response to the improvement in security scenario, it has been lifted from many states", he said. He further said, "In our endeavour to protect human rights, we must not lose sight of the stark ground realities of the internal security scenario and the constraints under which the security forces operate and the overall resources, positions of the central and state governments". We have also taken steps to mainstream and sensitise human rights in officers' training courses. I think we need to be equally vigilant to protect legal rights of the security personnel.They need reassurance that their life and rights are also equally precious".

Armed Forces Special Powers Act suspended from various states: Home Secretary of NHRC

Marooned on a dusty slope in the world's largest refugee camp, Osiur Rahman looked to the hill where a Rohingya girl was buried in a landslide just days earlier and contemplated his chances should the earth give way beneath his feet.

"Our families would be killed. There are children everywhere around here. We constantly fear that rain could trigger a landslide," the 53-year-old told AFP on the steep embankment where he lives with nine family members in a bamboo shack.

For the 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled to southeast Bangladesh in the past nine months, the approaching monsoon season poses the most serious threat since they were violently expelled from Myanmar.

Close to one million of the stateless Muslim minority live in the Cox's Bazar district but the new arrivals, stranded on unstable hills in bamboo and plastic shacks, are especially vulnerable.

A massive operation to shore up the camps against disaster is in overdrive, with bulldozers levelling hills and refugees bunkering down however they can.

But as the rains approach, the young girl's death this month in a torrent of mud and rock has heightened fears of a much greater tragedy.

There is a dearth of safe land to relocate the estimated 200,000 refugees in direct danger of floods and landslides, and just 21,000 have been moved so far.

"We could literally have lives lost as people slide down hillsides and valleys are flooded with water," Kevin J&nbspAllen, head of the UNHCR refugee agency's operations in Cox's Bazar, told AFP.

"They could face yet again another emergency, this time driven by mother nature."

The camps' makeshift homes are predicted to receive more than 2.5 metres (eight feet) of rainfall over three months starting June -- roughly triple what Britain gets in a year.

Cox's Bazar has been battered by cyclones for three years running, having already suffered astonishing devastation in the past.

Cyclones have killed tens of thousands along the Bangladesh coast in recent decades and countless more have been swept to their deaths in floods and landslides.

This time, nature is on a collision course with refugees who have nowhere to run -- no higher ground and no cyclone shelters.

Nowhere to go&nbsp

The first storms underscored the fragility of the camps: the brief rains turned roads into quagmires, crumbled hillsides and flooded low-lying areas.

The huge endeavour to prevent disaster has seen slopes vulnerable to collapse flattened and extensive canal systems carved throughout the camps.

Toilets are being fortified with sandbags to prevent a major disease outbreak should floodwater meet overflowing latrines.

But there are limits to how much can be done.

Bangladesh has restricted the use of sturdier materials for shelters because it may suggest the Rohingya plan to stay, contrary to Dhaka's desire to return them to Myanmar.

The roof was blown clean off Noor Mohammad's shack in a recent squall. He had gathered chunks of wood and rocks to weigh it down but was "scared of what could pass" when Bangladesh's wild weather barrels through.

The Rohingya are no strangers to the monsoon, he said. But in Myanmar, villages were built to withstand its ferocity and trees provided a bulwark against the elements.

"Here, there is nothing to stop the wind," he said, gesturing to the deforested hills stretching for miles.

Bangladesh has freed up hundreds of hectares (acres) but most is hilly and was prone to landslides even before the Rohingya uprooted trees for shelters and firewood.

We will die

Mosques and community centres could shelter 150,000 people if needed, said Kazi Abdur Rahman, acting district administrator of Cox's Bazar.

"But if there is a big cyclone, and all these people need relocating, there is not a system for that yet. It is not possible to shift one million people," he told AFP.

The Rohingya, who have fled persecution time and again, fear being on the run once more.

"Everybody is afraid, wondering where we'll go if our houses are destroyed," Rohingya imam Muhammad Yusuf told AFP.

Aid groups say a cyclone or devastating storm could cut access to the camps for a week -- restricting food and supplies to a tent city with a population greater than San Francisco.

The World Food Programme's emergency coordinator Peter Guest said thousands of porters were being assembled to carry food on foot if access roads were cut.

Those left homeless or starving will have nowhere to run anyway: the Rohingya are encircled by military checkpoints and prohibited from leaving.

"What else can we do? If Allah does not protect us, we will die," said 60-year-old refugee Dil Mohammad.

For the 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled to southeast Bangladesh in the past nine months, the approaching monsoon season poses the most serious threat since they were violently expelled from Myanmar

Marooned on a dusty slope in the world's largest refugee camp, Osiur Rahman looked to the hill where a Rohingya girl was buried in a landslide just days earlier and contemplated his chances should the earth give way beneath his feet. "Our families would be killed. There are children everywhere around here. We constantly fear that rain could trigger a landslide," the 53-year-old told AFP on the steep embankment where he lives with nine family members in a bamboo shack. For the 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled to southeast Bangladesh in the past nine months, the approaching monsoon season poses the most serious threat since they were violently expelled from Myanmar. Close to one million of the stateless Muslim minority live in the Cox's Bazar district but the new arrivals, stranded on unstable hills in bamboo and plastic shacks, are especially vulnerable. A massive operation to shore up the camps against disaster is in overdrive, with bulldozers levelling hills and refugees bunkering down however they can. But as the rains approach, the young girl's death this month in a torrent of mud and rock has heightened fears of a much greater tragedy. There is a dearth of safe land to relocate the estimated 200,000 refugees in direct danger of floods and landslides, and just 21,000 have been moved so far. "We could literally have lives lost as people slide down hillsides and valleys are flooded with water," Kevin J&nbspAllen, head of the UNHCR refugee agency's operations in Cox's Bazar, told AFP. "They could face yet again another emergency, this time driven by mother nature." The camps' makeshift homes are predicted to receive more than 2.5 metres (eight feet) of rainfall over three months starting June -- roughly triple what Britain gets in a year. Cox's Bazar has been battered by cyclones for three years running, having already suffered astonishing devastation in the past. Cyclones have killed tens of thousands along the Bangladesh coast in recent decades and countless more have been swept to their deaths in floods and landslides. This time, nature is on a collision course with refugees who have nowhere to run -- no higher ground and no cyclone shelters. Nowhere to go The first storms underscored the fragility of the camps: the brief rains turned roads into quagmires, crumbled hillsides and flooded low-lying areas. The huge endeavour to prevent disaster has seen slopes vulnerable to collapse flattened and extensive canal systems carved throughout the camps. Toilets are being fortified with sandbags to prevent a major disease outbreak should floodwater meet overflowing latrines. But there are limits to how much can be done. Bangladesh has restricted the use of sturdier materials for shelters because it may suggest the Rohingya plan to stay, contrary to Dhaka's desire to return them to Myanmar. The roof was blown clean off Noor Mohammad's shack in a recent squall. He had gathered chunks of wood and rocks to weigh it down but was "scared of what could pass" when Bangladesh's wild weather barrels through. The Rohingya are no strangers to the monsoon, he said. But in Myanmar, villages were built to withstand its ferocity and trees provided a bulwark against the elements. "Here, there is nothing to stop the wind," he said, gesturing to the deforested hills stretching for miles. Bangladesh has freed up hundreds of hectares (acres) but most is hilly and was prone to landslides even before the Rohingya uprooted trees for shelters and firewood. We will die Mosques and community centres could shelter 150,000 people if needed, said Kazi Abdur Rahman, acting district administrator of Cox's Bazar. "But if there is a big cyclone, and all these people need relocating, there is not a system for that yet. It is not possible to shift one million people," he told AFP. The Rohingya, who have fled persecution time and again, fear being on the run once more. "Everybody is afraid, wondering where we'll go if our houses are destroyed," Rohingya imam Muhammad Yusuf told AFP. Aid groups say a cyclone or devastating storm could cut access to the camps for a week -- restricting food and supplies to a tent city with a population greater than San Francisco. The World Food Programme's emergency coordinator Peter Guest said thousands of porters were being assembled to carry food on foot if access roads were cut. Those left homeless or starving will have nowhere to run anyway: the Rohingya are encircled by military checkpoints and prohibited from leaving. "What else can we do? If Allah does not protect us, we will die," said 60-year-old refugee Dil Mohammad.

'Our families would be killed': Rohingya brace for monsoon

The UN&nbsprefugee agency called a Myanmar minister's visit to Bangladesh to meet Muslim Rohingya refugees a confidence-building measure, but said conditions in Myanmar were not ready for their return.

Myanmar Social Welfare Minister Win Myat Aye, who heads rehabilitation efforts in Myanmar's troubled western Rakhine state, told about 50 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh on Wednesday that getting the repatriation process moving was top priority.

But the UN&nbspHigh Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Thursday Myanmar was not prepared.

"Conditions in Myanmar are not yet conducive for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees," it said in a statement, adding that the responsibility remains with the government to create such conditions.

According to UN&nbspofficials, nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh from Rakhine to escape a military crackdown since August, amid reports of murder, rape and arson by Myanmar troops and Buddhist vigilantes which the United Nations has likened to "ethnic cleansing".

Buddhist-majority Myanmar rejects the charge, saying its security forces launched a legitimate counter-insurgency operation on Aug. 25 in response to Rohingya militant attacks.

The refugees are living in cramped camps in the port of Cox's Bazar and Bangladesh is keen for them to return home soon, especially with the oncoming monsoons expected to cause major devastation at the camps.

The UNHCR called on Myanmar to provide the agency unhindered access in Rakhine to assess the situation and monitor the return and reintegration of refugees if and when they voluntarily return.

Acknowledging the mistrust and fear of the Rohingya of Myanmar, Win Myat Aye told the group of refugees on Wednesday to set aside the past and to prepare to go back, promising new villages would be built with hospitals and schools.

But some refugees have said they are worried about going back, fearing persecution.

'Conditions in Myanmar are not yet conducive for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees,' it said in a statement, adding that the responsibility remains with the government to create such conditions

The UN&nbsprefugee agency called a Myanmar minister's visit to Bangladesh to meet Muslim Rohingya refugees a confidence-building measure, but said conditions in Myanmar were not ready for their return. Myanmar Social Welfare Minister Win Myat Aye, who heads rehabilitation efforts in Myanmar's troubled western Rakhine state, told about 50 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh on Wednesday that getting the repatriation process moving was top priority. But the UN&nbspHigh Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Thursday Myanmar was not prepared. "Conditions in Myanmar are not yet conducive for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees," it said in a statement, adding that the responsibility remains with the government to create such conditions. According to UN&nbspofficials, nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh from Rakhine to escape a military crackdown since August, amid reports of murder, rape and arson by Myanmar troops and Buddhist vigilantes which the United Nations has likened to "ethnic cleansing". Buddhist-majority Myanmar rejects the charge, saying its security forces launched a legitimate counter-insurgency operation on Aug. 25 in response to Rohingya militant attacks. The refugees are living in cramped camps in the port of Cox's Bazar and Bangladesh is keen for them to return home soon, especially with the oncoming monsoons expected to cause major devastation at the camps. The UNHCR called on Myanmar to provide the agency unhindered access in Rakhine to assess the situation and monitor the return and reintegration of refugees if and when they voluntarily return. Acknowledging the mistrust and fear of the Rohingya of Myanmar, Win Myat Aye told the group of refugees on Wednesday to set aside the past and to prepare to go back, promising new villages would be built with hospitals and schools. But some refugees have said they are worried about going back, fearing persecution.

Myanmar not ready for return of Rohingya Muslims, says UNHCR

The United Nations refugee agency is set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh laying out a framework for the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, an agency spokesman said on Wednesday.

The MoU is aimed at establishing cooperation between the UN agency and Bangladesh "on the safe, voluntary, and dignified returns of refugees in line with international standards, if and when the conditions are conducive to returns," said UN&nbspHigh Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Andrej Mahecic.

Mahecic and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mohammad Shahidul Haque said the MoU will be signed on Friday morning in Geneva.

Another Bangladeshi official involved in the discussions said the MoU is likely to lay out that the UNHCR will vet all refugees being repatriated to ensure that the process is 100 percent voluntary.

"The whole return process will be operated as per the UNHCR, so there will be no force put on the refugee to go back," said the source.

Some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a military crackdown and crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar's Rakhine state since August. The refugees are living in cramped camps at Cox's Bazar, and Bangladesh is keen to urge the refugees to return home soon, especially with the oncoming monsoons expected to cause major devastation at the camps.

The official, who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to discuss matters with the media, said the UNHCR is expected to run a few transit sites along the border that will house refugees before they are transferred to temporary resettlement shelters in Rakhine State.&nbsp

The official added that the UN&nbspbody is expected to arrange sufficient funds to run the repatriation programme and that both the parties would conduct promotional activities urging people to return to Myanmar.

A Myanmar minister told Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh on Wednesday that their repatriation was a priority, in the first visit by a top Myanmar official since last year's exodus.

The bilateral MoU would be an early step in the process work on a deal involving Bangladesh, Myanmar and the UNHCR is ongoing. That tripartite deal would aim to provide guarantees around the resettlement and safety of those that agree to be repatriated, along with assurances that officials of the UNHCR will be allowed to regularly inspect these sites.

The MoU will be signed on Friday morning in Geneva

The United Nations refugee agency is set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh laying out a framework for the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, an agency spokesman said on Wednesday. The MoU is aimed at establishing cooperation between the UN agency and Bangladesh "on the safe, voluntary, and dignified returns of refugees in line with international standards, if and when the conditions are conducive to returns," said UN&nbspHigh Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Andrej Mahecic. Mahecic and Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mohammad Shahidul Haque said the MoU will be signed on Friday morning in Geneva. Another Bangladeshi official involved in the discussions said the MoU is likely to lay out that the UNHCR will vet all refugees being repatriated to ensure that the process is 100 percent voluntary. "The whole return process will be operated as per the UNHCR, so there will be no force put on the refugee to go back," said the source. Some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a military crackdown and crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar's Rakhine state since August. The refugees are living in cramped camps at Cox's Bazar, and Bangladesh is keen to urge the refugees to return home soon, especially with the oncoming monsoons expected to cause major devastation at the camps. The official, who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to discuss matters with the media, said the UNHCR is expected to run a few transit sites along the border that will house refugees before they are transferred to temporary resettlement shelters in Rakhine State. The official added that the UN&nbspbody is expected to arrange sufficient funds to run the repatriation programme and that both the parties would conduct promotional activities urging people to return to Myanmar. A Myanmar minister told Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh on Wednesday that their repatriation was a priority, in the first visit by a top Myanmar official since last year's exodus. The bilateral MoU would be an early step in the process work on a deal involving Bangladesh, Myanmar and the UNHCR is ongoing. That tripartite deal would aim to provide guarantees around the resettlement and safety of those that agree to be repatriated, along with assurances that officials of the UNHCR will be allowed to regularly inspect these sites.

Bangladesh, UNHCR to ink preliminary plan on Rohingya repatriation

Israel on Wednesday released from detention a small group of African migrants who had been awaiting deportation after the collapse of an international deal to send them to Rwanda.

Some 200 additional migrants are still being held at the Saharonim detention centre in southern Israel awaiting possible deportation to Uganda but their fate depends on whether an Israeli envoy who visited the East African state on Wednesday had managed to secure a deal for them to be taken in.

In the event agreement is not reached, they too will be freed, probably on Thursday. The long-term fate of the freed migrants was unclear but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was seeking a new relocation deal, although he gave no details.

Netanyahu said on Tuesday he was cancelling an agreement with the UN&nbsprefugee agency to relocate thousands of African migrants, bowing to right-wing at home pressure to scrap the deal.

Netanyahu's critics seized on his backtracking on the arrangement - under which thousands of other migrants would have won the right to remain in Israel - as a sign of political weakness.

For the estimated 37,000 migrants in Israel, most of them from Eritrea and Sudan, the whirlwind of announcements over the past three days about their future has swept their status even deeper into limbo.

On Monday, Netanyahu announced the arrangement with the UNHCR that would have relocated about 16,250 migrants to Western countries.

But the fact that thousands more would be allowed to stay raised an outcry from right-wing politicians and on social media from Netanyahu's nationalist voter base, which wants the migrants expelled. He then announced he was putting the agreement's implementation on hold and by Tuesday, he killed it.

The 58 migrants set free from Saharonim in the south of the country boarded buses to Tel Aviv. They were freed because the state could not give assurances to the Supreme Court that it had found a safe haven for them abroad.

"I have been detained for six months and at lunchtime today the police came and told me I was being released, I don't know where I'll go yet," Musia Bara from Eritrea told Israel's Channel 1.

Several hundred migrants held a demonstration in central Jerusalem later on Wednesday demanding to be allowed to stay and for the forced deportations to be stopped.

Eritrean Muluebrhan Ghebrihiwet, 27, one of the demonstrators who has been in Israel for almost seven years and who was released from detention last month, said Israel's government was playing mind games with the migrants.

"We are grateful to the Israeli public for their support but the government has waged a psychological war against us and they have done so because of politics but we are refugees, human beings and we demand that they stop," he said.

Some 200 additional migrants are still being held at the Saharonim detention centre in southern Israel awaiting possible deportation to Uganda

Israel on Wednesday released from detention a small group of African migrants who had been awaiting deportation after the collapse of an international deal to send them to Rwanda. Some 200 additional migrants are still being held at the Saharonim detention centre in southern Israel awaiting possible deportation to Uganda but their fate depends on whether an Israeli envoy who visited the East African state on Wednesday had managed to secure a deal for them to be taken in. In the event agreement is not reached, they too will be freed, probably on Thursday. The long-term fate of the freed migrants was unclear but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was seeking a new relocation deal, although he gave no details. Netanyahu said on Tuesday he was cancelling an agreement with the UN&nbsprefugee agency to relocate thousands of African migrants, bowing to right-wing at home pressure to scrap the deal. Netanyahu's critics seized on his backtracking on the arrangement - under which thousands of other migrants would have won the right to remain in Israel - as a sign of political weakness. For the estimated 37,000 migrants in Israel, most of them from Eritrea and Sudan, the whirlwind of announcements over the past three days about their future has swept their status even deeper into limbo. On Monday, Netanyahu announced the arrangement with the UNHCR that would have relocated about 16,250 migrants to Western countries. But the fact that thousands more would be allowed to stay raised an outcry from right-wing politicians and on social media from Netanyahu's nationalist voter base, which wants the migrants expelled. He then announced he was putting the agreement's implementation on hold and by Tuesday, he killed it. The 58 migrants set free from Saharonim in the south of the country boarded buses to Tel Aviv. They were freed because the state could not give assurances to the Supreme Court that it had found a safe haven for them abroad. "I have been detained for six months and at lunchtime today the police came and told me I was being released, I don't know where I'll go yet," Musia Bara from Eritrea told Israel's Channel 1. Several hundred migrants held a demonstration in central Jerusalem later on Wednesday demanding to be allowed to stay and for the forced deportations to be stopped. Eritrean Muluebrhan Ghebrihiwet, 27, one of the demonstrators who has been in Israel for almost seven years and who was released from detention last month, said Israel's government was playing mind games with the migrants. "We are grateful to the Israeli public for their support but the government has waged a psychological war against us and they have done so because of politics but we are refugees, human beings and we demand that they stop," he said.

Israel frees detained migrants set for Rwanda after relocation deal collapses

Saudi-led air strikes have killed 28 Huthi rebels around Yemen&#39;s west coast, medics and security sources close to the insurgents said Friday, as government forces reported deadly clashes in the south.

The security sources said air strikes on Thursday and Friday hit five towns controlled by the Huthis around 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Hodeida.

Medical sources said 28 Huthis were killed and 17 wounded in the attacks.

Yemeni government forces retook Beihan district in Shabwa province from the Huthis, their last stronghold in the oil-rich southern province, a senior officer said Friday.

The capture of Beihan came during clashes that killed 14 rebels and nine pro-government troops, the officer said.

There has been no let-up in the air campaign against the rebels that a Saudi-led coalition has been waging since March 2015.

The air strikes have intensified since the December 4 killing of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh at the hands of the Huthis after his alliance with the rebels collapsed.

At the same time, forces of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government have stepped up attacks on the rebels and last week retook the Red Sea town of Khokha from the Huthis.

The security sources said new clashes broke out on Friday as government forces tried to push towards Hodeida.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said it was &quot;bracing for further displacement and a spike in humanitarian needs as hostilities intensify in frontline areas on Yemen&#39;s west coast&quot;.

Hodeida is the main conduit for UN-supervised deliveries of food and medicine, but the port is controlled by the Huthis and remains closed, forcing the UN to divert aid supplies to other areas.

&quot;To date we have deployed emergency relief items for 2,000 families in Hodeida, and a further 2,000 aid kits are on their way along with 2,000 emergency shelter kits,&quot; the UNHCR said in a statement.

&quot;As the port of Hodeida remains closed an additional 43 containers with emergency, shelter and household aid, including plastic tarpaulins and blankets for more than 20,000 families, had to be diverted to Aden,&quot; it added.

More than 2,000 people have died of cholera in Yemen this year, adding to the 8,600 killed in the conflict between the Saudi-backed government and rebels since 2015.

The security sources said air strikes on Thursday and Friday hit five towns controlled by the Huthis around 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Hodeida

Saudi-led air strikes have killed 28 Huthi rebels around Yemen's west coast, medics and security sources close to the insurgents said Friday, as government forces reported deadly clashes in the south. The security sources said air strikes on Thursday and Friday hit five towns controlled by the Huthis around 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Hodeida. Medical sources said 28 Huthis were killed and 17 wounded in the attacks. Yemeni government forces retook Beihan district in Shabwa province from the Huthis, their last stronghold in the oil-rich southern province, a senior officer said Friday. The capture of Beihan came during clashes that killed 14 rebels and nine pro-government troops, the officer said. There has been no let-up in the air campaign against the rebels that a Saudi-led coalition has been waging since March 2015. The air strikes have intensified since the December 4 killing of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh at the hands of the Huthis after his alliance with the rebels collapsed. At the same time, forces of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government have stepped up attacks on the rebels and last week retook the Red Sea town of Khokha from the Huthis. The security sources said new clashes broke out on Friday as government forces tried to push towards Hodeida. The UN refugee agency UNHCR said it was "bracing for further displacement and a spike in humanitarian needs as hostilities intensify in frontline areas on Yemen's west coast". Hodeida is the main conduit for UN-supervised deliveries of food and medicine, but the port is controlled by the Huthis and remains closed, forcing the UN to divert aid supplies to other areas. "To date we have deployed emergency relief items for 2,000 families in Hodeida, and a further 2,000 aid kits are on their way along with 2,000 emergency shelter kits," the UNHCR said in a statement. "As the port of Hodeida remains closed an additional 43 containers with emergency, shelter and household aid, including plastic tarpaulins and blankets for more than 20,000 families, had to be diverted to Aden," it added. More than 2,000 people have died of cholera in Yemen this year, adding to the 8,600 killed in the conflict between the Saudi-backed government and rebels since 2015.

Strikes, clashes kill 51 in Yemen

Rohingya refugees continue to flee Myanmar for Bangladesh even though both countries set up a timetable last month to allow them to start to return home, the UN&nbsp;refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Thursday.

The number of refugees appears to have slowed. 625,000 have arrived since August 25.30,000 came last month and around 1,500 arrived last week, UNHCR said

&quot;The refugee emergency in Bangladesh is the fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world,&quot; said deputy high commissioner Kelly Clements. &quot;Conditions in Myanmar&#39;s Rakhaine state are not in place to enable a safe and sustainable return ... refugees are still fleeing.&quot;

&quot;Most have little or nothing to go back to. Their homes and villages have been destroyed. Deep divisions between communities remain unaddressed and human access is inadequate,&quot; she said.

Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed on November 23 to start the return of Rohingya within two months. It did not say when the process would be complete.

Myanmar&#39;s security forces may be guilty of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority, according to the top UN&nbsp;human rights official this week. Mainly Buddhist Myanmar denies the Muslim Rohingya are its citizens and considers them foreigners.

UNHCR would make a fresh appeal to donors for funds after the end of February in next year, Kelly said.

Rohingya refugees continue to flee Myanmar for Bangladesh even though both countries set up a timetable last month to allow them to start to return home, the UN?refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Thursday

Rohingya refugees continue to flee Myanmar for Bangladesh even though both countries set up a timetable last month to allow them to start to return home, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Thursday. The number of refugees appears to have slowed. 625,000 have arrived since August 25.30,000 came last month and around 1,500 arrived last week, UNHCR said "The refugee emergency in Bangladesh is the fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world," said deputy high commissioner Kelly Clements. "Conditions in Myanmar's Rakhaine state are not in place to enable a safe and sustainable return ... refugees are still fleeing." "Most have little or nothing to go back to. Their homes and villages have been destroyed. Deep divisions between communities remain unaddressed and human access is inadequate," she said. Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed on November 23 to start the return of Rohingya within two months. It did not say when the process would be complete. Myanmar's security forces may be guilty of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority, according to the top UN human rights official this week. Mainly Buddhist Myanmar denies the Muslim Rohingya are its citizens and considers them foreigners. UNHCR would make a fresh appeal to donors for funds after the end of February in next year, Kelly said.

Rohingya refugees still fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh - UNHCR

Afrooz* lives in a compact 1-BHK (bedroom, kitchen, hall) apartment in one of south Delhi&#39;s sprawling urban villages, Khirkee Extension. She shares the space with nine other family&nbsp;members. Something permeates the air in the living room &mdash; rotting yogurt and fermented rice. She offers&nbsp;me naan (Afghani flatbread) and Qorma &mdash; especially made for me. Ten others sit for the meal with me, but we eat in silence. A palpable sadness floats around us.

In 1994, when Afrooz was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, her middle class family could not afford luxuries, but they had a good life. Her family could afford a good education for the children, owned a decent house, two cars and had a regular income.

What could go wrong? Probably nothing. But everything did.

&quot;War and unrest dawned upon our lives. I could hear continuous gunfire echoes from outside the house. My classmate was shot in a market during the daytime. Another friend was kidnapped and never seen again. Terror was in the air but I only felt numb.&nbsp;I had no clue why it was happening. I had started getting accustomed to the&nbsp;smell of gunpowder and the sight of blood.&nbsp;One day, dacoits entered our house. In my heart, I knew this was the end of us. My mother shushed us. The women hid in cupboards and under the beds. It turned out they weren&rsquo;t dacoits, but they came with a warning. &#39;Leave before they come for you&#39; they said. I knew it was the Taliban. The question in my mind was &mdash; why us? We have never hurt anyone.&quot;

Afrooz&#39;s faith it turned out disqualified her from claiming the land of her birth and that of her forefathers her homeland. Her family are followers of the Bahai religion &mdash; considered unfit for the Islamic state.

&quot;I loved my country, my hometown, my house, my room. I miss everything I left behind. But we were lucky enough to get a new start in India unlike the thousands still stuck in the terrors of the war. There was hope for a better, brighter future. We had heard stories about the greatness of India &mdash; a&nbsp;generous land that embraces many cultures.&quot;

Afrooz and 10 members of her family made their way into India in batches, entering the country on medical, and tourist visas. India allows people to migrate without prior permissions if their lives are in danger.

From 15,917 Afghan refugees residing in India in 1998 to the 10,340 currently in India, Afghans fleeing war and persecution have found themselves safe and welcome here.

&quot;India abides by Article 31 of the Refugee Convention&nbsp;which permits the treatment of refugees. It exempts them from penalties for illegal entry&nbsp;when they come directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened.&nbsp;However, there is no law concerning refugees in the country. Their status is governed by guidelines stated under Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939.&nbsp;Although India is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol, it has followed a very liberal refugee policy which adheres to the underlying principles of international refugee law,&quot; lawyer Yateesh Begoore Shivaswamy, told WION.

&nbsp;

Stay in India: In safety, but without jobs&nbsp;

Afrooz has been in India for five years now. &quot;People are extremely warm and helpful. However, our problems are countless. Indian government does not have laws for refugees. We are at the mercy of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). A refugee card issued by the organisation is our only identity proof. False promises (by UNHCR) of education, employment, income, health-care facilities were made to be broken. We are not eligible to even buy a sim card, forget about a bank account. My father is the only bread-earner of the family &mdash; he works in a bakery for Rupees 8000 a month. He has to support a nine-member family. The demonetisation period was tortuous. We are financially dependent on my uncle who sends money from Germany to supplement our family income. What if he decides to stop some day? What will we do then?&quot;

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Refugee Card issues by UNHCR is valid for two years. It is not useful to get a SIM card or bank account (WION)
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As refugees, they are not eligible for formal education or employment unless they have a long-term visa.

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&quot;Promises were made but never fulfilled. Some Afghanis who have been in India for two years still don&rsquo;t have refugee cards. They promise us unskilled jobs. UNHCR pays beauty parlours to train us, but we never get jobs.&quot;

As time passed things kept getting worse instead of improving.

&quot;My sister was called in for an interview in Dilshad Garden (a neighbourhood in east Delhi) set up by the UNHCR. When she reached the venue, a strange man with possibly bad intentions waited for her in a dark room with strange lighting and music. She had to run. Saying that we live a poor, below dignity life is&nbsp;an understatement. I am a citizen... of this planet. I hate being called a refugee. I hate not having a home,&quot; she said, her eyes welling up.

India is on the verge of&nbsp;granting citizenship to Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan who have sought refuge from religious persecution.&nbsp;

&quot;They are granting citizenship to persecuted Hindus. We as Muslims do not feel very welcomed. The Indian government doesn&#39;t take care of us.&quot; said Aman Zaidi, 30, who fled Afghanistan in hope of a better future for his sons. He has taught himself the languages spoken locally (Hindi and English) and now works as an interpreter for Afghan medical tourists at hospitals.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Chaos, hope, fresh starts

In spite of the ongoing social and political mayhem, the community has been able to make space for itself. The refugees that landed in India earlier watch out for the new arrivals. Afrooz&#39;s father got a house and job through another Sikh refugee from Afghanistan.

In a back alley of Lajpat Nagar, a sprawling market area in south Delhi, is Afghan Market or Kabul street. Shop boards in Dari transcript, modest looking restaurants with fancy interiors, separate seating areas for men and women, playlists of Hindi, English and Pashto songs, general stores with supplies from United Arab Emirates (UAE), scent of Kabuli pulao - the place is a safe haven for Afghan refugees.&nbsp;

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Shops in Lajpat Nagar&#39;s Afghan market have signboards in English and Dari language (WION)
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&nbsp;

Naseem manages a street-vend of Afghani snacks. He offered me to try Bolani Gandana (a stuffed, deep fried bread). A tentative attempt to initiate a conversation revealed that Naseem was a rather garrulous man who had landed in India just a month ago. &quot;I have a friend who has taken refuge here. He runs a restaurant&nbsp;and is helping me financially. The situation in Afghanistan is horrible. Here&nbsp;I am able to earn twice the amount I used to earlier working as a cook. I plan to bring my entire family over.&quot;&nbsp; 
&quot;I love India. I have been a fan of Bollywood movies,&quot; he explained his ease in Hindi by telling this reporter about his love for Hindi films and actor Ajay Devgan.&nbsp;

Naseem then insisted that I visit his friend&#39;s restaurant and have lunch there &mdash; typical of the largesse of his people.

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Naseem makes a decent living through a street-stall of Afghani snacks. He wants to bring his family to India soon (WION)
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&nbsp;

Twenty-year-old Ahmed arrived in India recently. His employer warned him to be careful with strangers. The shy young&nbsp;man took a while to open up.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t have a refugee card,&quot; he said&nbsp;while cooking bread in the clay oven of a small eatery.

He hopes to start a new life here. &quot;I come from Mazar-e-Sharif. A guy helped me escape. My family is still there. We all couldn&#39;t afford to come, so they sent me. I would want to see them again, but I don&#39;t want to go back to Afghanistan. It is terrifying to even think about it. I hope I can do enough to call them here,&quot; he smiled.&nbsp;

Young or old, there is one common strain in all conversations &mdash; the luxury of a sound night&#39;s sleep without the fear of mortars and bombs tearing into homes.

&quot;My hometown was beautiful.&nbsp;I have grown up admiring the natural &nbsp;beauty around me. But things got out of control there. You can die any moment. Delhi&nbsp;is very crowded and they blare horns too loudly. But at least I can sleep without worrying at night. In other countries, they start firing on refugee boats. India has given us a home to live. We might not be citizens, but this is now our home,&quot;&nbsp;60-year old Hameed told WION.

Others headed back to India because it was their natural home. When the Sikh community found itself under attack by the Taliban, many of them made a long and arduous journey to the land of their forefather.&nbsp;Harmeet Chhabra, now a&nbsp;naturalised Indian citizen, came to India 24 years ago. &quot;Our shop in Kabul was looted. We travelled on foot for 10 days in a group of 50. Our shop was raided and several friends and their families were killed. We did not know anyone in India. Initially, we took refuge in the Golden Temple in &nbsp;Amritsar. It has been a long journey.&quot; Today, Chhabra runs a chemist store in Delhi.

Today the community finds shelter for some and homes for others in Delhi neighbourhooda like Lajpat Nagar, Bhogal,&nbsp;Saket, Tilak Nagar and Wazirabad. Wazirabad is where most Hindu and&nbsp;Sikh Afghans have settled down, driven from their homeland in 1991 by the Afghan Mujahideen during the rule of Mohammad Najibullah which were the early days of the Taliban.

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From a place away from home, the Afghan refugees use their culinary skills to build new lives for themselves (WION)
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&nbsp;

What the law says

In terms of international obligations, as a consequence of its accession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Government of India has some obligations towards the economic status of refugees. The Covenant guarantees everyone&rsquo;s &ndash; including refugees&rsquo; &ndash; right to work. However, it may be noted that the Covenant provides a caveat wherein &ldquo;developing countries, with due regard to human rights and their national economy, may determine to what extent they would guarantee the economic rights&quot;.

&quot;Refugees who fled their home country in fear of genuine threats are eligible for Long Term Visa (LTV). A refugee holding a long term visa is permitted to take up employment in the private sector or undertake studies in any academic institution.&quot; Shivaswamy added.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Equal status for all refugees?

The feasibility of legislation, however, remains a political question and whether Parliament would see fit to enact such legislation is hard to surmise. The &lsquo;Asylum Bill 2015&rsquo; introduced in the Lok Sabha by MP Shashi Tharoor proposes fair treatment and just manner consistent with the guarantees of equality, fairness and due process of law for all refugees.

The procedure of determining who qualifies as a refugee is unsure. While the government decides refugee status for fugitives from regions like Sri Lanka and Tibet, refugees from other regions need to approach UNHCR office. This has given rise to an inconsistent approach towards different nationalities, and an asylum policy that, on the whole, lacks uniformity.

The community also claims discrimination and partiality when it comes to issuing refugee cards among refugees of different nationalities.

&quot;All refugees are not treated equally by the UNHCR. It is way easier for other communities to get basic documentation,&quot; Afrooz&#39;s brother, Faraz said.

Clearly, there are loopholes in the system to implement policies in the&nbsp;interest of refugees.

*Some names have been changed to protect identity

(WION)

India provides a safe haven to Afghans escaping war in their country, but this New Year they dream of work, study opportunity

Afrooz* lives in a compact 1-BHK (bedroom, kitchen, hall) apartment in one of south Delhi's sprawling urban villages, Khirkee Extension. She shares the space with nine other family members. Something permeates the air in the living room — rotting yogurt and fermented rice. She offers me naan (Afghani flatbread) and Qorma — especially made for me. Ten others sit for the meal with me, but we eat in silence. A palpable sadness floats around us. In 1994, when Afrooz was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, her middle class family could not afford luxuries, but they had a good life. Her family could afford a good education for the children, owned a decent house, two cars and had a regular income. What could go wrong? Probably nothing. But everything did. "War and unrest dawned upon our lives. I could hear continuous gunfire echoes from outside the house. My classmate was shot in a market during the daytime. Another friend was kidnapped and never seen again. Terror was in the air but I only felt numb. I had no clue why it was happening. I had started getting accustomed to the smell of gunpowder and the sight of blood. One day, dacoits entered our house. In my heart, I knew this was the end of us. My mother shushed us. The women hid in cupboards and under the beds. It turned out they weren’t dacoits, but they came with a warning. 'Leave before they come for you' they said. I knew it was the Taliban. The question in my mind was — why us? We have never hurt anyone." Afrooz's faith it turned out disqualified her from claiming the land of her birth and that of her forefathers her homeland. Her family are followers of the Bahai religion — considered unfit for the Islamic state. "I loved my country, my hometown, my house, my room. I miss everything I left behind. But we were lucky enough to get a new start in India unlike the thousands still stuck in the terrors of the war. There was hope for a better, brighter future. We had heard stories about the greatness of India — a generous land that embraces many cultures." Afrooz and 10 members of her family made their way into India in batches, entering the country on medical, and tourist visas. India allows people to migrate without prior permissions if their lives are in danger. From 15,917 Afghan refugees residing in India in 1998 to the 10,340 currently in India, Afghans fleeing war and persecution have found themselves safe and welcome here. "India abides by Article 31 of the Refugee Convention which permits the treatment of refugees. It exempts them from penalties for illegal entry when they come directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened. However, there is no law concerning refugees in the country. Their status is governed by guidelines stated under Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939. Although India is not a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol, it has followed a very liberal refugee policy which adheres to the underlying principles of international refugee law," lawyer Yateesh Begoore Shivaswamy, told WION. Stay in India: In safety, but without jobs Afrooz has been in India for five years now. "People are extremely warm and helpful. However, our problems are countless. Indian government does not have laws for refugees. We are at the mercy of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). A refugee card issued by the organisation is our only identity proof. False promises (by UNHCR) of education, employment, income, health-care facilities were made to be broken. We are not eligible to even buy a sim card, forget about a bank account. My father is the only bread-earner of the family — he works in a bakery for Rupees 8000 a month. He has to support a nine-member family. The demonetisation period was tortuous. We are financially dependent on my uncle who sends money from Germany to supplement our family income. What if he decides to stop some day? What will we do then?" Refugee Card issues by UNHCR is valid for two years. It is not useful to get a SIM card or bank account (WION) × As refugees, they are not eligible for formal education or employment unless they have a long-term visa. "Promises were made but never fulfilled. Some Afghanis who have been in India for two years still don’t have refugee cards. They promise us unskilled jobs. UNHCR pays beauty parlours to train us, but we never get jobs." As time passed things kept getting worse instead of improving. "My sister was called in for an interview in Dilshad Garden (a neighbourhood in east Delhi) set up by the UNHCR. When she reached the venue, a strange man with possibly bad intentions waited for her in a dark room with strange lighting and music. She had to run. Saying that we live a poor, below dignity life is an understatement. I am a citizen... of this planet. I hate being called a refugee. I hate not having a home," she said, her eyes welling up. India is on the verge of granting citizenship to Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan who have sought refuge from religious persecution. "They are granting citizenship to persecuted Hindus. We as Muslims do not feel very welcomed. The Indian government doesn't take care of us." said Aman Zaidi, 30, who fled Afghanistan in hope of a better future for his sons. He has taught himself the languages spoken locally (Hindi and English) and now works as an interpreter for Afghan medical tourists at hospitals. Chaos, hope, fresh starts In spite of the ongoing social and political mayhem, the community has been able to make space for itself. The refugees that landed in India earlier watch out for the new arrivals. Afrooz's father got a house and job through another Sikh refugee from Afghanistan. In a back alley of Lajpat Nagar, a sprawling market area in south Delhi, is Afghan Market or Kabul street. Shop boards in Dari transcript, modest looking restaurants with fancy interiors, separate seating areas for men and women, playlists of Hindi, English and Pashto songs, general stores with supplies from United Arab Emirates (UAE), scent of Kabuli pulao - the place is a safe haven for Afghan refugees. Shops in Lajpat Nagar's Afghan market have signboards in English and Dari language (WION) × Naseem manages a street-vend of Afghani snacks. He offered me to try Bolani Gandana (a stuffed, deep fried bread). A tentative attempt to initiate a conversation revealed that Naseem was a rather garrulous man who had landed in India just a month ago. "I have a friend who has taken refuge here. He runs a restaurant and is helping me financially. The situation in Afghanistan is horrible. Here I am able to earn twice the amount I used to earlier working as a cook. I plan to bring my entire family over." "I love India. I have been a fan of Bollywood movies," he explained his ease in Hindi by telling this reporter about his love for Hindi films and actor Ajay Devgan. Naseem then insisted that I visit his friend's restaurant and have lunch there — typical of the largesse of his people. Naseem makes a decent living through a street-stall of Afghani snacks. He wants to bring his family to India soon (WION) × Twenty-year-old Ahmed arrived in India recently. His employer warned him to be careful with strangers. The shy young man took a while to open up. "I don't have a refugee card," he said while cooking bread in the clay oven of a small eatery. He hopes to start a new life here. "I come from Mazar-e-Sharif. A guy helped me escape. My family is still there. We all couldn't afford to come, so they sent me. I would want to see them again, but I don't want to go back to Afghanistan. It is terrifying to even think about it. I hope I can do enough to call them here," he smiled. Young or old, there is one common strain in all conversations — the luxury of a sound night's sleep without the fear of mortars and bombs tearing into homes. "My hometown was beautiful. I have grown up admiring the natural beauty around me. But things got out of control there. You can die any moment. Delhi is very crowded and they blare horns too loudly. But at least I can sleep without worrying at night. In other countries, they start firing on refugee boats. India has given us a home to live. We might not be citizens, but this is now our home," 60-year old Hameed told WION. Others headed back to India because it was their natural home. When the Sikh community found itself under attack by the Taliban, many of them made a long and arduous journey to the land of their forefather. Harmeet Chhabra, now a naturalised Indian citizen, came to India 24 years ago. "Our shop in Kabul was looted. We travelled on foot for 10 days in a group of 50. Our shop was raided and several friends and their families were killed. We did not know anyone in India. Initially, we took refuge in the Golden Temple in Amritsar. It has been a long journey." Today, Chhabra runs a chemist store in Delhi. Today the community finds shelter for some and homes for others in Delhi neighbourhooda like Lajpat Nagar, Bhogal, Saket, Tilak Nagar and Wazirabad. Wazirabad is where most Hindu and Sikh Afghans have settled down, driven from their homeland in 1991 by the Afghan Mujahideen during the rule of Mohammad Najibullah which were the early days of the Taliban. From a place away from home, the Afghan refugees use their culinary skills to build new lives for themselves (WION) × What the law says In terms of international obligations, as a consequence of its accession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Government of India has some obligations towards the economic status of refugees. The Covenant guarantees everyone’s – including refugees’ – right to work. However, it may be noted that the Covenant provides a caveat wherein “developing countries, with due regard to human rights and their national economy, may determine to what extent they would guarantee the economic rights". "Refugees who fled their home country in fear of genuine threats are eligible for Long Term Visa (LTV). A refugee holding a long term visa is permitted to take up employment in the private sector or undertake studies in any academic institution." Shivaswamy added. Equal status for all refugees? The feasibility of legislation, however, remains a political question and whether Parliament would see fit to enact such legislation is hard to surmise. The ‘Asylum Bill 2015’ introduced in the Lok Sabha by MP Shashi Tharoor proposes fair treatment and just manner consistent with the guarantees of equality, fairness and due process of law for all refugees. The procedure of determining who qualifies as a refugee is unsure. While the government decides refugee status for fugitives from regions like Sri Lanka and Tibet, refugees from other regions need to approach UNHCR office. This has given rise to an inconsistent approach towards different nationalities, and an asylum policy that, on the whole, lacks uniformity. The community also claims discrimination and partiality when it comes to issuing refugee cards among refugees of different nationalities. "All refugees are not treated equally by the UNHCR. It is way easier for other communities to get basic documentation," Afrooz's brother, Faraz said. Clearly, there are loopholes in the system to implement policies in the interest of refugees. *Some names have been changed to protect identity (WION)

A sound night's sleep: Afghans hope for equal refugee benefits in India

The UN refugee agency today said it was &quot;alarmed&quot; by the consequences of US President Donald Trump&#39;s order barring refugee arrivals, describing those targeted as &quot;anxious, confused and heartbroken&quot;.

&quot;This week alone, over 800 refugees were set to make America their new home,&quot; the Geneva-based UNHCR said in a statement.

The order signed by Trump on Friday suspends arrivals by refugees in general for 120 days and Syrian refugees indefinitely.

&quot;UNHCR estimates that 20,000 refugees in precarious circumstances might have been resettled to the United States during the 120 days covered by the suspension,&quot; the statement added, basing that figure on averages over the last 15 years.

&quot;Refugees are anxious, confused and heartbroken at this suspension,&quot; it further said, describing UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi as &quot;deeply worried&quot; by the impact of Trump&#39;s move.

Refugees who qualify for resettlement to the US or other developed countries have typically endured extreme hardships and have no prospect of safely returning to their home countries.

The US president&#39;s widely-condemned executive order also bars entry for travellers from seven mainly Muslim countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- for 90 days.

(AFP)

'This week alone, over 800 refugees were set to make America their new home,' the Geneva-based UNHCR said in a statement

The UN refugee agency today said it was "alarmed" by the consequences of US President Donald Trump's order barring refugee arrivals, describing those targeted as "anxious, confused and heartbroken". "This week alone, over 800 refugees were set to make America their new home," the Geneva-based UNHCR said in a statement. The order signed by Trump on Friday suspends arrivals by refugees in general for 120 days and Syrian refugees indefinitely. "UNHCR estimates that 20,000 refugees in precarious circumstances might have been resettled to the United States during the 120 days covered by the suspension," the statement added, basing that figure on averages over the last 15 years. "Refugees are anxious, confused and heartbroken at this suspension," it further said, describing UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi as "deeply worried" by the impact of Trump's move. Refugees who qualify for resettlement to the US or other developed countries have typically endured extreme hardships and have no prospect of safely returning to their home countries. The US president's widely-condemned executive order also bars entry for travellers from seven mainly Muslim countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- for 90 days. (AFP)

UN refugee body 'alarmed' by Trump's immigration order

Almost 40 years after seeking sanctuary in Pakistan, Nusheen Bibi lives in fear of being expelled from the only country she has ever known.

Bibi was only three when her family fled the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan - some of more than 6 million Afghan refugees who crossed into neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.&nbsp;

They soon made a new life in northern Pakistan where Bibi grew up, got married and eventually gave birth.

But growing animosity towards Afghan refugees combined with a push from the Pakistani government to repatriate thousands of Afghans has left the 40-year-old feeling vulnerable.

Under Pakistan&#39;s laws, a foreign woman can acquire Pakistani citizenship by marrying a local man, but Bibi has never done the paperwork to change her nationality.

&quot;I can&#39;t even think about leaving Pakistan,&quot; the mother of five told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in her home, a small mud house.

&quot;How can I leave my children, husband and entire family of in-laws?&quot; said Bibi, who asked that her real name not be used.

Pakistan has some 1.5 million registered refugees, one of the largest such populations in the world, according to the UN&nbsp;refugee agency (UNHCR). More than a million others are estimated to live there unregistered.

Although repatriation is not compulsory, Islamabad has stepped up pressure to send people back and numbers have risen sharply in recent months as Afghan-Indian relations strengthened and those between India and Pakistan soured.

UNHCR said 67,057 refugees were permanently repatriated in August, up from 12,962 the month before.

In all, more than 380,000 registered Afghan refugees have returned home in 2016 so far, with more than 1.4 million still remaining in Pakistan, UNHCR said.

&quot;Still foreigners&quot;

In September, Pakistan extended Afghan refugees&#39;&nbsp;right to stay until March 2017, but restrictions and harassment have increased, refugees and the UNHCR say.&nbsp;

Many Afghans complain of discrimination when considered for jobs and university places.&nbsp;

Pakistani officials deny there has been systematic harassment of Afghans living in Pakistan and say their country has demonstrated great generosity to the refugee population, despite severe economic problems of its own.

Like Bibi, Dilshad Begum is also facing the threat of separation from her spouse.&nbsp;

Begum was born in Mardan, a district of Pakistan&#39;s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 2003, she married an Afghan man whose family migrated across the border.

But unlike foreign women, foreign men cannot acquire Pakistani citizenship through marriage.

The couple grew increasingly concerned about their future following brief clashes between Pakistani and Afghan security forces at the Torkham border crossing in June.

&quot;My husband sold his property in Afghanistan to establish his business in Pakistan,&quot; Begum said.

&quot;However, the government is now asking him to close down his business, withdraw all the money from his bank and move back to Afghanistan.&quot;

Sana, whose Afghan father moved to Pakistan at the age of eight, has tried but failed to gain a place at the University of Peshawar.

&quot;I finished college in Peshawar, where I was born. But the management tells me the quota for Afghan students is full already, so I can&#39;t get in,&quot; she said.

&quot;It is extremely disturbing for me to learn that after all these years, we are still being treated as foreigners.&quot;

Many who have returned to Afghanistan are struggling to reintegrate in a country they barely know.

Malala&#39;s family recently left for Afghanistan but the student, who declined to give her full name, decided to stay in Pakistan to complete her studies.

&quot;I&#39;m finding it difficult to continue because my dad is having a hard time establishing his business in Afghanistan,&quot; she said.

But the young woman says she bears no ill will towards Pakistan.

&quot;I was born here and love this soil. No matter where I go, Pakistan will always have a special place in my heart,&quot; she said.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Reuters)

Pakistan has some 1.5 million registered refugees, one of the largest such populations in the world, according to the UN refugee agency

Almost 40 years after seeking sanctuary in Pakistan, Nusheen Bibi lives in fear of being expelled from the only country she has ever known. Bibi was only three when her family fled the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan - some of more than 6 million Afghan refugees who crossed into neighbouring Pakistan and Iran. They soon made a new life in northern Pakistan where Bibi grew up, got married and eventually gave birth. But growing animosity towards Afghan refugees combined with a push from the Pakistani government to repatriate thousands of Afghans has left the 40-year-old feeling vulnerable. Under Pakistan's laws, a foreign woman can acquire Pakistani citizenship by marrying a local man, but Bibi has never done the paperwork to change her nationality. "I can't even think about leaving Pakistan," the mother of five told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in her home, a small mud house. "How can I leave my children, husband and entire family of in-laws?" said Bibi, who asked that her real name not be used. Pakistan has some 1.5 million registered refugees, one of the largest such populations in the world, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). More than a million others are estimated to live there unregistered. Although repatriation is not compulsory, Islamabad has stepped up pressure to send people back and numbers have risen sharply in recent months as Afghan-Indian relations strengthened and those between India and Pakistan soured. UNHCR said 67,057 refugees were permanently repatriated in August, up from 12,962 the month before. In all, more than 380,000 registered Afghan refugees have returned home in 2016 so far, with more than 1.4 million still remaining in Pakistan, UNHCR said. "Still foreigners" In September, Pakistan extended Afghan refugees' right to stay until March 2017, but restrictions and harassment have increased, refugees and the UNHCR say. Many Afghans complain of discrimination when considered for jobs and university places. Pakistani officials deny there has been systematic harassment of Afghans living in Pakistan and say their country has demonstrated great generosity to the refugee population, despite severe economic problems of its own. Like Bibi, Dilshad Begum is also facing the threat of separation from her spouse. Begum was born in Mardan, a district of Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 2003, she married an Afghan man whose family migrated across the border. But unlike foreign women, foreign men cannot acquire Pakistani citizenship through marriage. The couple grew increasingly concerned about their future following brief clashes between Pakistani and Afghan security forces at the Torkham border crossing in June. "My husband sold his property in Afghanistan to establish his business in Pakistan," Begum said. "However, the government is now asking him to close down his business, withdraw all the money from his bank and move back to Afghanistan." Sana, whose Afghan father moved to Pakistan at the age of eight, has tried but failed to gain a place at the University of Peshawar. "I finished college in Peshawar, where I was born. But the management tells me the quota for Afghan students is full already, so I can't get in," she said. "It is extremely disturbing for me to learn that after all these years, we are still being treated as foreigners." Many who have returned to Afghanistan are struggling to reintegrate in a country they barely know. Malala's family recently left for Afghanistan but the student, who declined to give her full name, decided to stay in Pakistan to complete her studies. "I'm finding it difficult to continue because my dad is having a hard time establishing his business in Afghanistan," she said. But the young woman says she bears no ill will towards Pakistan. "I was born here and love this soil. No matter where I go, Pakistan will always have a special place in my heart," she said. (Reuters)

Repatriation push, rising hostility alarms Afghan refugees in Pakistan

About 60,000 people have fled South Sudan since violence escalated over the past three weeks, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday. 
 
&quot;They brought to us very disturbing reports, armed groups operating on roads to Uganda are preventing people from fleeing,&quot; UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a briefing. 
 
&quot;Armed groups are looting villages, murdering civilians and forcibly recruiting young men and boys into their ranks.&quot; 
 
The bulk headed to neighbouring Uganda, doubling the flow over that border over the past 10 days, and the rest to Sudan and Kenya, the agency added. 
 
(Reuters)

The UNHCR said armed groups in the country have been forcibly recruiting young boys in their ranks

About 60,000 people have fled South Sudan since violence escalated over the past three weeks, the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday. "They brought to us very disturbing reports, armed groups operating on roads to Uganda are preventing people from fleeing," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a briefing. "Armed groups are looting villages, murdering civilians and forcibly recruiting young men and boys into their ranks." The bulk headed to neighbouring Uganda, doubling the flow over that border over the past 10 days, and the rest to Sudan and Kenya, the agency added. (Reuters)

60,000 South Sudanese flee violence, report looting, killing

Tens of thousands of people have fled a fresh outbreak of violence in South Sudan, reporting mass killings, looting and forced recruitment of child soldiers, UN agencies said today. 
 
Many of the refugees pouring into neighbouring Uganda, Kenya and Sudan have been carrying malnourished children, the refugee agency the UNHCR added, the victims of a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by food shortages and a cholera outbreak. 
 
The world&#39;s newest nation has been caught up in more than two years of ethnically charged fighting between supporters of President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival Riek Machar that has raised fears of wider instability across east Africa. 
 
Machar&#39;s supporters said at least nine people had died in the latest clashes on a road in Central Equatoria state, the region that includes the capital, Juba, over the weekend. 
 
Government spokesman Michael Makuei Lueth played down those reports, insisting that a frequently broken peace deal signed last year was still on track. 
 
&ldquo;People must understand that the peace agreement doesn&rsquo;t belong to Riek Machar,&quot; he told reporters in the capital on Tuesday. The personal rivalry between Kiir, from the Dinka group, and Machar, a Nuer, has worsened ethnic splits in a country awash with weapons since the long civil war that led to its separation from Sudan in 2011. 
 
Machar, who returned to the capital in April under the terms of the troubled peace deal, left again last month as new clashes broke out between his men and Kiir&#39;s. &nbsp; 
 
Government military helicopters flew over the capital over the weekend, but the streets were quiet on Tuesday. Residents reported sharp rises in the prices of fuel, vegetables, flour and other basic foodstuffs, with traders blaming shortages on blockages on the main trade route to Uganda. Banks closed their branches and many families stayed in shelters outside UN compounds across the city. 
 
Further afield, local militias, who often fight over control of land, grazing, and oil-producing areas, have been taking advantage of the chaos to step up their operations. UN agencies said refugees had reported gunmen trying to block their flight and harassing them on the way. 
 
&quot;Armed groups operating across different parts of South Sudan are looting villages, murdering civilians and forcibly recruiting young men and boys into their ranks,&quot; UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a briefing in Geneva. 
 
Around 60,000 people have fled as violence mounted over the past three weeks, she said, the bulk of them to Uganda, doubling the flow over that border over the past 10 days. &quot;We are very concerned about quickly having the capacity to treat the increasing numbers of malnourished children who are coming across,&quot; Fleming said. 
 
A further 1.6 million South Sudanese are displaced people within their country, said Jens Laerke of the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). &quot;These are really very vast numbers, it&#39;s a massive crisis,&quot; Laerke added, noting that in all 900,000 refugees have fled South Sudan since December 2013. 
 
A cholera outbreak is spreading in South Sudan, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, with 35 new admissions being recorded in Juba county daily, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said. 
 
There have been signs of a split within Machar&#39;s movement since he left the capital, and analysts have questioned whether both men have full authority over their followers. 
 
(AFP)

World's newest nation has been caught up in more than two years of ethnically charged fighting

Tens of thousands of people have fled a fresh outbreak of violence in South Sudan, reporting mass killings, looting and forced recruitment of child soldiers, UN agencies said today. Many of the refugees pouring into neighbouring Uganda, Kenya and Sudan have been carrying malnourished children, the refugee agency the UNHCR added, the victims of a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by food shortages and a cholera outbreak. The world's newest nation has been caught up in more than two years of ethnically charged fighting between supporters of President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival Riek Machar that has raised fears of wider instability across east Africa. Machar's supporters said at least nine people had died in the latest clashes on a road in Central Equatoria state, the region that includes the capital, Juba, over the weekend. Government spokesman Michael Makuei Lueth played down those reports, insisting that a frequently broken peace deal signed last year was still on track. “People must understand that the peace agreement doesn’t belong to Riek Machar," he told reporters in the capital on Tuesday. The personal rivalry between Kiir, from the Dinka group, and Machar, a Nuer, has worsened ethnic splits in a country awash with weapons since the long civil war that led to its separation from Sudan in 2011. Machar, who returned to the capital in April under the terms of the troubled peace deal, left again last month as new clashes broke out between his men and Kiir's. Government military helicopters flew over the capital over the weekend, but the streets were quiet on Tuesday. Residents reported sharp rises in the prices of fuel, vegetables, flour and other basic foodstuffs, with traders blaming shortages on blockages on the main trade route to Uganda. Banks closed their branches and many families stayed in shelters outside UN compounds across the city. Further afield, local militias, who often fight over control of land, grazing, and oil-producing areas, have been taking advantage of the chaos to step up their operations. UN agencies said refugees had reported gunmen trying to block their flight and harassing them on the way. "Armed groups operating across different parts of South Sudan are looting villages, murdering civilians and forcibly recruiting young men and boys into their ranks," UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a briefing in Geneva. Around 60,000 people have fled as violence mounted over the past three weeks, she said, the bulk of them to Uganda, doubling the flow over that border over the past 10 days. "We are very concerned about quickly having the capacity to treat the increasing numbers of malnourished children who are coming across," Fleming said. A further 1.6 million South Sudanese are displaced people within their country, said Jens Laerke of the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "These are really very vast numbers, it's a massive crisis," Laerke added, noting that in all 900,000 refugees have fled South Sudan since December 2013. A cholera outbreak is spreading in South Sudan, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, with 35 new admissions being recorded in Juba county daily, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said. There have been signs of a split within Machar's movement since he left the capital, and analysts have questioned whether both men have full authority over their followers. (AFP)

Tens of thousands of people flee South Sudan as fresh violence erupts: UN

The United States is to start vetting would-be refugees from Central America in their home countries instead of on American soil, and offer those in imminent danger a temporary haven in Costa Rica, officials said on Tuesday. 
 
The announcement - a significant change in US immigration handling - comes after America toughened its southern border against a persistent flow of thousands of Central Americans fleeing violence, and as it steps up deportations of migrants who failed to win asylum. 
 
It also arrives in a US election year in which migration is a hot-button issue. 
 
Under the plan, to be carried out in coordination with the UN refugee agency UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration, &quot;the United States government will pre-screen vulnerable applicants from the region seeking protection&quot;, the White House said in a statement. 
 
It will focus on citizens of the so-called &quot;Northern Triangle&quot; in Central America comprising Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, which are prey to frightening levels of gang-related violence, poverty and corruption. 
 
A White House spokesman, Eric Schulz, told reporters the initiative was to &quot;promote safe migration&quot;, especially for the many children attempting the &quot;harrowing and sometimes deadly trip&quot; overland to the United States. 
 
The White House statement added that asylum-seekers &quot;most in need of immediate protection&quot; would be transferred to Costa Rica. 
 
There, they would be processed further before going on to the United States or another safe country. 
 
&#39;Important&#39; step&nbsp; 
 
UNHCR&#39;s representative for Central America, Carlos Maldonado, told a news conference in Costa Rica that &quot;these people will stay a maximum of six months in Costa Rica with a humanitarian visa and will later leave for a third country&quot;. 
 
During their waiting period, the applicants would receive English language and other courses to help them adapt to their new countries, he said. 
 
Officers from the US department of homeland security will carry out the vetting in Central America, officials said. 
 
Amy Pope, the Homeland Security deputy adviser on the National Security Council headed by President Barack Obama, told reporters that US procedures to date had proven &quot;insufficient to address the number of people who may have legitimate refugee claims&quot;. 
 
She called the deal to use Costa Rica as a safe stopover for refugees was &quot;an extraordinarily important step forward for this program&quot;. 
 
Officials stressed that Central American migrants entering Costa Rica without being processed in their home country first would not be included in the program. 
 
Pope said the vetting to be carried out would be the same as that for all refugee applicants, describing it as &quot;the most comprehensive screening we do for any category of immigrants coming to the United States&quot;. 
 
US officials said they were additionally expanding an initiative for Central American minors, under which a migrant already legally in the US can ask for refugee status for them. 
 
The broadened approach will now also permit adult children to be included, as well family members who are parents or caregivers. 
 
Obama&#39;s legacy&nbsp; 
 
The changes reflect efforts by Obama&#39;s administration to find a more effective solution to the wave of Central American migrants trying to enter the US. 
 
In 2014, America saw a big spike in the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border from Mexico. 
 
The United States responded by having Mexico bolster efforts to stop those crossing the border, and by ordering the deportation of Central American migrants in the US whose application to stay had been rejected by courts. 
 
At the same time, the United States has approved $750 million in aid to the Northern Triangle countries to boost security, in a bid to reduce the reasons so many people were fleeing. 
 
Obama in 2014 issued a decree to allow migrants whose children are legally resident to apply for permits to live in America, which would have shielded millions from deportation. 
 
But in June this year the US Supreme Court blocked that measure. 
 
Hillary Clinton, who is campaigning to succeed Obama as President in a November election, said the ruling &quot;could tear apart five million families facing deportation&quot;. 
 
However Donald Trump, her Republican challenger, has taken a tough line on all immigration, and has vowed to build a wall along the US-Mexican border if he becomes president. 
 
(AFP)

Focus will be on citizens from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras which are prey to gang-related violence, poverty and corruption

The United States is to start vetting would-be refugees from Central America in their home countries instead of on American soil, and offer those in imminent danger a temporary haven in Costa Rica, officials said on Tuesday. The announcement - a significant change in US immigration handling - comes after America toughened its southern border against a persistent flow of thousands of Central Americans fleeing violence, and as it steps up deportations of migrants who failed to win asylum. It also arrives in a US election year in which migration is a hot-button issue. Under the plan, to be carried out in coordination with the UN refugee agency UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration, "the United States government will pre-screen vulnerable applicants from the region seeking protection", the White House said in a statement. It will focus on citizens of the so-called "Northern Triangle" in Central America comprising Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, which are prey to frightening levels of gang-related violence, poverty and corruption. A White House spokesman, Eric Schulz, told reporters the initiative was to "promote safe migration", especially for the many children attempting the "harrowing and sometimes deadly trip" overland to the United States. The White House statement added that asylum-seekers "most in need of immediate protection" would be transferred to Costa Rica. There, they would be processed further before going on to the United States or another safe country. 'Important' step UNHCR's representative for Central America, Carlos Maldonado, told a news conference in Costa Rica that "these people will stay a maximum of six months in Costa Rica with a humanitarian visa and will later leave for a third country". During their waiting period, the applicants would receive English language and other courses to help them adapt to their new countries, he said. Officers from the US department of homeland security will carry out the vetting in Central America, officials said. Amy Pope, the Homeland Security deputy adviser on the National Security Council headed by President Barack Obama, told reporters that US procedures to date had proven "insufficient to address the number of people who may have legitimate refugee claims". She called the deal to use Costa Rica as a safe stopover for refugees was "an extraordinarily important step forward for this program". Officials stressed that Central American migrants entering Costa Rica without being processed in their home country first would not be included in the program. Pope said the vetting to be carried out would be the same as that for all refugee applicants, describing it as "the most comprehensive screening we do for any category of immigrants coming to the United States". US officials said they were additionally expanding an initiative for Central American minors, under which a migrant already legally in the US can ask for refugee status for them. The broadened approach will now also permit adult children to be included, as well family members who are parents or caregivers. Obama's legacy The changes reflect efforts by Obama's administration to find a more effective solution to the wave of Central American migrants trying to enter the US. In 2014, America saw a big spike in the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border from Mexico. The United States responded by having Mexico bolster efforts to stop those crossing the border, and by ordering the deportation of Central American migrants in the US whose application to stay had been rejected by courts. At the same time, the United States has approved $750 million in aid to the Northern Triangle countries to boost security, in a bid to reduce the reasons so many people were fleeing. Obama in 2014 issued a decree to allow migrants whose children are legally resident to apply for permits to live in America, which would have shielded millions from deportation. But in June this year the US Supreme Court blocked that measure. Hillary Clinton, who is campaigning to succeed Obama as President in a November election, said the ruling "could tear apart five million families facing deportation". However Donald Trump, her Republican challenger, has taken a tough line on all immigration, and has vowed to build a wall along the US-Mexican border if he becomes president. (AFP)

US turns to vetting would-be refugees in Central America

More than 37,000 people have fled South Sudan for neighbouring Uganda in the last three weeks following intense fighting between rival troops that left hundreds dead, the United Nation&#39;s (UN)&nbsp;refugee body said today. 
 
An already shaky 2015 peace deal signed after a bloody civil war in the world&#39;s newest nation looks uncertain after the clashes between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and those allied with former rebel leader Riek Machar. 
 
&quot;In the past three weeks there have been more refugee arrivals in Uganda than in the entire first six months of 2016,&quot; when 33,838 crossed the border, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement. 
 
More than 90 per cent of the arrivals were women and children, UNHCR said, with men forcibly recruited by armed groups and prevented from crossing the border. 
 
Those who fled were from South Sudan&#39;s Eastern Equatoria region, as well as from the capital, Juba, and the last week has seen the greatest surges. 
 
Facilities on the Ugandan side were overwhelmed at first with the sheer size of the influx, UNHCR said. 
 
It used the example of Elegu, northern Uganda, where more than 11,000 refugees were at one point staying in a shelter designed for 1,000. 
 
Underfunding of the UN bodies helping those displaced compounded the problem, the refugee agency said, adding that 831,582 South Sudanese were now refugees, scattered across Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda. 
 
South Sudan&#39;s President Salva Kiir announced on Monday that former rebel leader Riek Machar had been replaced as vice president, confirming signs of serious divisions within the opposition. 
 
Kiir said he had appointed Taban Deng Gai to the post on the &quot;recommendation of the top leadership of the SPLM/A (IO)&quot; -- the group Machar heads. 
 
Machar has refused to come back to Juba until the deployment of a neutral force of African troops -- a plan approved by the African Union but rejected by Kiir. 
 
Machar and Kiir fell out in 2013, little more than two years after South Sudan became independent, when Kiir accused his vice president of plotting against him. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

'In the past three weeks, there have been more refugee arrivals in Uganda than in the entire first six months of 2016'

More than 37,000 people have fled South Sudan for neighbouring Uganda in the last three weeks following intense fighting between rival troops that left hundreds dead, the United Nation's (UN) refugee body said today. An already shaky 2015 peace deal signed after a bloody civil war in the world's newest nation looks uncertain after the clashes between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and those allied with former rebel leader Riek Machar. "In the past three weeks there have been more refugee arrivals in Uganda than in the entire first six months of 2016," when 33,838 crossed the border, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement. More than 90 per cent of the arrivals were women and children, UNHCR said, with men forcibly recruited by armed groups and prevented from crossing the border. Those who fled were from South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria region, as well as from the capital, Juba, and the last week has seen the greatest surges. Facilities on the Ugandan side were overwhelmed at first with the sheer size of the influx, UNHCR said. It used the example of Elegu, northern Uganda, where more than 11,000 refugees were at one point staying in a shelter designed for 1,000. Underfunding of the UN bodies helping those displaced compounded the problem, the refugee agency said, adding that 831,582 South Sudanese were now refugees, scattered across Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda. South Sudan's President Salva Kiir announced on Monday that former rebel leader Riek Machar had been replaced as vice president, confirming signs of serious divisions within the opposition. Kiir said he had appointed Taban Deng Gai to the post on the "recommendation of the top leadership of the SPLM/A (IO)" -- the group Machar heads. Machar has refused to come back to Juba until the deployment of a neutral force of African troops -- a plan approved by the African Union but rejected by Kiir. Machar and Kiir fell out in 2013, little more than two years after South Sudan became independent, when Kiir accused his vice president of plotting against him. (AFP)

In 3 weeks, more than 37,000 people fled South Sudan for Uganda: UN

Thousands of people have fled renewed violence in the Central African Republic to neighbouring Chad and Cameroon, the United Nations said Friday, voicing fears that many more could follow. 
 
The UN refugee agency said that it had helped register 5,643 Central African refugees in Chad, in the villages of Sourouh and Mini next to the border, in recent weeks. 
 
Another 555 refugees had crossed to Yamba village in eastern Cameroon, UNHCR said. 
 
&quot;The exodus began on June 12 when clashes erupted between livestock herders and local arable farmers in and around the north-west town of Ngaoundaye, Ouham Pende region,&quot; it said in a statement. 
 
The agency pointed out that such clashes typically occur when herders move their animals across the land, but warned that &quot;this year, disturbingly, rival ex-Seleka and anti-Balaka militias have become involved.&quot; 
 
The violence comes as the former French colony struggles to recover from over a year of sectarian bloodletting, which drove half a million people from their homes starting in 2013. 
 
Central African Republic, one of the world&#39;s poorest countries, was plunged into chaos by the ousting in March that year of long-serving president Francois Bozize, a Christian, by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel alliance. 
 
The coup sparked a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks by the Muslim forces and Christian vigilantes known as &quot;anti-balaka&quot; (anti-machete) militias, in which thousands of people were slaughtered. 
 
The trouble has subsided significantly in the past year. 
 
But the UNHCR warned Friday that the new clashes had forced more people from their homes. 
 
Refugees told UNHCR workers they had seen &quot;killings, kidnappings, looting and the torching of their homes,&quot; the agency said. 
 
Most of those fleeing were &quot;exhausted, weak and hungry&quot; and needed &quot;urgent aid&quot;, the refugee body said. 
 
Before the latest upsurge in violence, UNHCR was already helping provide protection to 67,000 Central African refugees in Chad, and 260,000 in Cameroon, with an additional 415,000 people displaced inside the country. 
 
The agency said it had appealed for $225.5 million to finance its operations linked to the Central African Republic crisis this year, but so far has only received $24.7 million. 
 
(AFP)

The violence comes as the former French colony struggles to recover from over a year of sectarian bloodletting

Thousands of people have fled renewed violence in the Central African Republic to neighbouring Chad and Cameroon, the United Nations said Friday, voicing fears that many more could follow. The UN refugee agency said that it had helped register 5,643 Central African refugees in Chad, in the villages of Sourouh and Mini next to the border, in recent weeks. Another 555 refugees had crossed to Yamba village in eastern Cameroon, UNHCR said. "The exodus began on June 12 when clashes erupted between livestock herders and local arable farmers in and around the north-west town of Ngaoundaye, Ouham Pende region," it said in a statement. The agency pointed out that such clashes typically occur when herders move their animals across the land, but warned that "this year, disturbingly, rival ex-Seleka and anti-Balaka militias have become involved." The violence comes as the former French colony struggles to recover from over a year of sectarian bloodletting, which drove half a million people from their homes starting in 2013. Central African Republic, one of the world's poorest countries, was plunged into chaos by the ousting in March that year of long-serving president Francois Bozize, a Christian, by the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel alliance. The coup sparked a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks by the Muslim forces and Christian vigilantes known as "anti-balaka" (anti-machete) militias, in which thousands of people were slaughtered. The trouble has subsided significantly in the past year. But the UNHCR warned Friday that the new clashes had forced more people from their homes. Refugees told UNHCR workers they had seen "killings, kidnappings, looting and the torching of their homes," the agency said. Most of those fleeing were "exhausted, weak and hungry" and needed "urgent aid", the refugee body said. Before the latest upsurge in violence, UNHCR was already helping provide protection to 67,000 Central African refugees in Chad, and 260,000 in Cameroon, with an additional 415,000 people displaced inside the country. The agency said it had appealed for $225.5 million to finance its operations linked to the Central African Republic crisis this year, but so far has only received $24.7 million. (AFP)

Thousands flee renewed central Africa violence: UN

Kenya aims to reduce by almost half the population of Dadaab refugee camp which is home to about 326,000 mostly Somali refugees by the end of the year, a committee that groups Kenya, Somalia and the UN refugee agency UNHCR said. 
 
Kenya has said it wants to close the camp, which was once home to more than half a million refugees, citing security threats. Nairobi says the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab has used the camp as a recruiting ground to launch attacks on Kenya. 
 
But Kenya has been urged by United States, United Nations and others to ensure no one is forced to return to Somalia, which is still struggling to rebuild after decades of conflict and continues to face an Islamist insurgency. 
 
After a meeting on Saturday, the so-called Tripartite Commission said Dadaab had 326,000 refugees at the end of May, already 100,000 fewer than five years earlier, many of whom it said were believed to have returned to Somalia. 
 
&quot;The parties noted the prospect of the reduction of the population in the Dadaab camps by 150,000 individuals by the end of 2016,&quot; the joint communique said, referring to string of sites that make up the Dadaab camp complex. 
 
It said the number would be reduced due to &quot;voluntary returns to Somalia, relocation of non-Somali refugees, the de-registration of Kenyan citizens who registered as refugees, and a population verification exercise.&quot; 
 
The UN had said earlier this year that it planned to reduce the number of people in Dadaab by 50,000 by the end of 2016, but had said that it could be a challenge given continued security concerns in Somalia and lack of schools and other public services there. 
 
A UN official said on Sunday that the new target of reducing the Dadaab population by 150,000 was a prospective figure and it was not guaranteed to be achieved. 
 
The Tripartite Commission also said it had agreed to meet again in October 2016 to review progress made &quot;on the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees from Kenya.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

The Somali Islamist group, al-Shabaab, has used Dadaab refugee camp as a recruiting ground to launch attacks on Kenya, says Nairobi

Kenya aims to reduce by almost half the population of Dadaab refugee camp which is home to about 326,000 mostly Somali refugees by the end of the year, a committee that groups Kenya, Somalia and the UN refugee agency UNHCR said. Kenya has said it wants to close the camp, which was once home to more than half a million refugees, citing security threats. Nairobi says the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab has used the camp as a recruiting ground to launch attacks on Kenya. But Kenya has been urged by United States, United Nations and others to ensure no one is forced to return to Somalia, which is still struggling to rebuild after decades of conflict and continues to face an Islamist insurgency. After a meeting on Saturday, the so-called Tripartite Commission said Dadaab had 326,000 refugees at the end of May, already 100,000 fewer than five years earlier, many of whom it said were believed to have returned to Somalia. "The parties noted the prospect of the reduction of the population in the Dadaab camps by 150,000 individuals by the end of 2016," the joint communique said, referring to string of sites that make up the Dadaab camp complex. It said the number would be reduced due to "voluntary returns to Somalia, relocation of non-Somali refugees, the de-registration of Kenyan citizens who registered as refugees, and a population verification exercise." The UN had said earlier this year that it planned to reduce the number of people in Dadaab by 50,000 by the end of 2016, but had said that it could be a challenge given continued security concerns in Somalia and lack of schools and other public services there. A UN official said on Sunday that the new target of reducing the Dadaab population by 150,000 was a prospective figure and it was not guaranteed to be achieved. The Tripartite Commission also said it had agreed to meet again in October 2016 to review progress made "on the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees from Kenya." (Reuters)

Kenya to halve size of Somali refugee camp by 2016 end

The United Nations said today that it will try to resettle a record 170,000 refugees urgently in need of a new home by next year. 
 
The projected resettlement figure from the UN refugee agency represents an increase of nearly 30,000 people compared with this year. 
But it is still less than 15 per cent of the 1.19 million refugees worldwide who will be &quot;in need of resettlement&quot; in 2017, the United Nations Human Right Commission (UNHCR) acknowledged in a report released today.&nbsp; 
 
That group mainly consists of refugees who the UN believes will not be able to return home or integrate in their current host country.&nbsp; 
But resettling 1.19 million people over a 12-month period is not feasible based on recent trends, UNHCR spokesman Leo Dobbs said.&nbsp; 
 
The agency therefore expects to recommend that the 170,000 people most in need of resettlement should be moved to third countries.&nbsp; 
Dobbs noted that the final decision in each case rests with prospective host countries, but in recent years the overwhelming majority of those recommended for resettlement have been given new homes. 
 
In 2015, UNHCR referred a record 134,000 people for resettlement and 104,000 in 2014. The projected figure for this year is 143,000.&nbsp; 
By nationality, Syrians led the list of resettlement cases last year at 20 per cent, followed by people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Somalia.&nbsp; 
 
The European Union (EU) has agreed to a responsibility-sharing scheme, which foresees the relocation of 160,000 refugees who have crossed the Mediterranean Sea and landed in Italy or Greece.&nbsp; 
 
But only a few hundred have been resettled to date under the EU plan. 
 
Overall the UNHCR has estimated that there are currently more than 60 million people who have been forced from their homes worldwide.&nbsp; 
 
Of those, roughly 40 million are internally displaced within their home country, while just over 20 million are refugees who have fled across borders.

Overall estimates say more than 60 million have been forced from their homes worldwide

The United Nations said today that it will try to resettle a record 170,000 refugees urgently in need of a new home by next year. The projected resettlement figure from the UN refugee agency represents an increase of nearly 30,000 people compared with this year. But it is still less than 15 per cent of the 1.19 million refugees worldwide who will be "in need of resettlement" in 2017, the United Nations Human Right Commission (UNHCR) acknowledged in a report released today. That group mainly consists of refugees who the UN believes will not be able to return home or integrate in their current host country. But resettling 1.19 million people over a 12-month period is not feasible based on recent trends, UNHCR spokesman Leo Dobbs said. The agency therefore expects to recommend that the 170,000 people most in need of resettlement should be moved to third countries. Dobbs noted that the final decision in each case rests with prospective host countries, but in recent years the overwhelming majority of those recommended for resettlement have been given new homes. In 2015, UNHCR referred a record 134,000 people for resettlement and 104,000 in 2014. The projected figure for this year is 143,000. By nationality, Syrians led the list of resettlement cases last year at 20 per cent, followed by people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Somalia. The European Union (EU) has agreed to a responsibility-sharing scheme, which foresees the relocation of 160,000 refugees who have crossed the Mediterranean Sea and landed in Italy or Greece. But only a few hundred have been resettled to date under the EU plan. Overall the UNHCR has estimated that there are currently more than 60 million people who have been forced from their homes worldwide. Of those, roughly 40 million are internally displaced within their home country, while just over 20 million are refugees who have fled across borders.

UN to try resettling 170,000 refugees by next year, up 30,000 from 2016

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