The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya will be nearly doubled in size to host refugees fleeing civil war in South Sudan.
Kakuma accommodates nearly 185,000 people, mostly South Sudanese. It will be able to hold up to 80,000 more when the planned expansion is complete.
Over 44,000 South Sudanese refugees have entered Kenya since fighting erupted in their home country in December 2013.
UNHCR’s Kenya representative Raouf Mazou said South Sudan’s war stopped initial plans to shut down the camp.
The extension will help ease overcrowding and make a space for new arrivals.
File photo: Kakuma III refugee camp in northern Kenya, 2010 (Matija Kovac/Worldpress)