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                   Malala Visits World's Largest Refugee Camp

   by Associated Press

   Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai is spending her 19th birthday in Kenya
   Tuesday visiting the world's largest refugee camp to draw attention to
   the global refugee crisis, especially as Dadaab camp faces pressure to
   close after a quarter-century.

   ''Since last year, Malala has been in contact via Skype with a group of
   girls in Dadaab refugee camp and is looking forward to meeting them and
   others, said Taylor Royle, her spokesman.

   Kenya's government says Dadaab camp, which hosts more than 300,000
   mostly Somali refugees, will be closed in the next year because it has
   become a security liability. The camp is in eastern Kenya, near its
   border with Somalia.

   The possible closing brings yet more uncertainty to the refugees, who
   face the prospect of returning to a Somalia still plagued with
   conflict. Kenya insists any returns will be voluntary. The
   international community has urged caution and warned against forceful
   evictions.

   Many of Dadaab's refugees have lived most, if not all, of their lives
   in the sprawling camp, open for 25 years. The vast settlement contains
   established homes and newcomers' improvised huts of thorn branches and
   other materials.

   Malala was expected to be asked about Dadaab's fate during her visit.
   She won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize after militants shot her in 2012
   while she was returning home from school in Pakistan, where she was an
   outspoken advocate for girls' education in a highly conservative
   culture. She now lives in Britain with her family.

   Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has said Dadaab repatriations will be
   done humanely.

   His government claims that attacks on Kenya by the Somali extremist
   group al-Shabab were planned and facilitated in Dadaab camp.
   Al-Shabab's numerous attacks in Kenya have killed scores since 2011,
   when Kenya deployed troops to Somalia against the militants. The Kenyan
   troops are now part of an African Union peacekeeping force there.

   Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaida, has vowed to continue attacking
   Kenya.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/malala-visits-worlds-largest-refugee-
   camp/3414727.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/malala-visits-worlds-largest-refugee-camp/3414727.html