Operations in Dadaab refugee camp were brought to stand still as angry residents took to the streets demanding the closure of the camp and urgent relocation of the refugees.
Hundreds of locals carrying placards lit borne fires at the main gate of United Nation and its agencies headquarters halting operations in the facility.
The angry residents turned away Non-Governmental Organizations trying to access the offices while singing anti UN slogans as police officers kept them at bay.
The residents also barricaded Dadaab-Garissa road.
The locals claim, refugees have depleted environment as a results of charcoal burning, hunting and cutting down trees with no clear indication that United Nations High Commission for Refugees(UNHCR) will compensate them.
They claim UNHCR had brought more harm to them than the benefits they offer.
"We are calling on UN to close its offices and move refugees out of Dadaab urgently, this is because they had brought sufferings to us without substantial benefits," said Nasibo Farah, a resident
Nasibo added that UNHCR and other NGOs have been sidelining the local community when it comes to employment opportunities as they ferried their staffs from outside the country or other parts of the country.
According Nasibo, the host community was also irked by a move by UNHCR, where its set to layoff more than 100 youth whose contracts will be terminated next month. Locals however want UNHCR to sack 'foreigners' and not local youths.
“We have been generous, we have hosted refugees for the last 26 years but this has come with grave consequences that we now needs immediate intervention” said, Siyad Garat.
Dadaab Deputy County Commissioner Harun Kamau has however said the current situation was brought by the reduced number of refugees in the camp, which caused loss jobs.
"We had no problems before the repatriation exercise which brought loss of jobs and ultimately led to the current situation," he said.
The Kenya government had signed a tripartite agreement two years ago between UNHCR and Somalia to voluntary assist refugees willing to go back to their original home and since then a number of refugees had gone back.
“The number of refugees reduced to almost a half because in 2011 they were about 470,000 while currently they are about 230,000 that means workload for UNHCR also reduces as well as funding, this may results of layoff of staffs working for these organizations,” he said.
The Dadaab administrator however said they have been engaged in several meetings with both the host community and UN refugee agency and hoped solutions will be found.
Mr Kamau acknowledged that environment had also been destroyed over the years refugees had been in existence adding that restoring it will also take years.
