Kenya to close Dadaab, world's biggest refugee camp

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Kenyan government will close Dadaab refugee camp, which has hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees and is often referred to as the world's largest camp, the East African country's interior security minister said Wednesday.

Dadaab camp, with an estimated 328,000 refugees mostly from Somalia, compromises Kenya's security because it harbors some of Somalia's al-Shabab Islamic extremists and is a conduit for smuggling weapons, Joseph Nkaissery said.

Last week the Kenyan government announced it intends to close Dadaab as well as Kakuma, a refugee camp housing 190,000 people, mostly South Sudanese fleeing civil war.

Eleven non-governmental organizations operating in Kenya issued a statement Tuesday urging the government to reconsider the intended closure of the refugee camp.