Kenya tensions spark Somali refugee flight

By James Reinl - The shopping malls and market stands of a Somali-dominated suburb in eastern Nairobi have been quieter than usual.

Article Keydmedia Online
10 February 2013

Taxi drivers in Eastleigh, a lucrative trade hub known locally as "Little Mogadishu", say business is drying up as Somalis leave Kenya to return home.

Somali refugees say they are harassed by Kenyan police, and wrongfully blamed for a wave of attacks that have shaken Kenya in recent months.

"People here are scared," says Jayhan Mohamed, a refugee in Eastleigh who fled a forced marriage and daily gunfights in the war-ravaged Somali capital, Mogadishu, with her baby son four years ago. 

"Somalis are attacked in their shops and homes. Police are going into houses, demanding money. Some people have been forced to sell their jewellery just to buy their way out of the police station.

"Many are running away from Kenya, going back home to a country without security rather than stay here."

The United Nation