17 July 2011
Nairobi — The first in a series of UN emergency airlift flights to take aid to Somalis in refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia has begun.
This follows the arrival, in Nairobi, of a giant cargo jet carrying 100 tonnes of tents.
The United Nations High commission for Refugees -chartered Boeing 747 landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Sunday and its cargo was immediately off-loaded for transport by road to Dadaab refugee camp near the Kenya-Somalia border.
6,600 tents expected
The flight, with 2,300 family tents from a UNHCR stockpile in Kuwait, is the first of five scheduled for Nairobi on alternate days this week. The next is set for on Tuesday.
Mr Rod Redmond, UNHCR’s spokesman for the region said: “They were being used in Iraq but they are no longer needed.
“So we felt that it was important that we bring them to Kenya to not only assist the refugees but also the growing number of aid workers who are assisting in the camps.”
The remaining flights, however, will originate in Islamabad, Pakistan, bringing some 6,600 tents from UNHCR’s stockpiles there.
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UN Flies in 2,300 Tents for Refugees