The British government will support the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees from Kenya under a Tripartite agreement that was signed last Sunday.

The British High Commissioner has said that the voluntary repatriation under the agreement will help the region become more stable and secure.

“Today’s (Sunday’s) event represents an important milestone, one that we have been encouraging for some time. But it’s just one step towards the more challenging task of safe and voluntary returns,” said Christian Turner, British High Commissioner in a statement.

UNHCR on Monday said that nearly half a million registered Somali refugees in Kenya will get support when they return to their homeland in an orderly fashion - if they choose to do so - under the agreement signed Sunday by the UN refugee agency and the governments of Kenya and Somalia.

“We will continue to support the Governments of Kenya and Somalia, together with UNHCR, to achieve this aim”, said Dr Turner.

The UN Refugee Agency said that in the five camps that make up the Dadaab refugee camp complex in north-eastern Kenya, there are more than 388,000 Somali refugees.

In the Kakuma camp in north-western Kenya there are 54,000 and in Nairobi there are 32,500 bringing the total number of refugees in the country to 474,483.

"It's very important to underline that no one is forcing Somalis to leave Kenya," said Raouf Mazou, UNHCR's representative in Kenya, in a statement.

The voluntary repatriation of refugees comes at a time when Kenya is fighting to contain terrorist attacks.

It has suffered over 30 grenade attacks over the past two years in areas such as Eastleigh which is in Nairobi, Mombasa, Wajir and Garissa.

On September 21, terrorists who are believed to have trained in Somalia attacked the Westage Mall killing at least 67 people while over 100 were injured.

The Tripartite Agreement establishes a legal framework and other support for Somali refugees in Kenya who might eventually wish to return to their country.

"Among other things, this means any refugee has the right to choose whether to go home, after they have been given information about conditions on the ground in Somalia so they can make an informed decision," said Mr Mazou.

The British Ambassador to Somalia Neil Wigan said that the British investment in Somalia will help promote the conditions needed for sustainable refugee return.

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