VZCZCXRO5278
RR RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #0380/01 0230648
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 230648Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6872
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME 0050
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 000380 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
 
USAID/DCHA FOR MHESS, WGARVELINK, LROGERS 
DCHA/OFDA FOR KLUU, GGOTTLIEB, AFERRARA, ACONVERY, 
CGOTTSCHALK, KCHANNELL 
DCHA/FFP FOR WHAMMINK, JDWORKEN 
AFR/AFR/EA FOR JBORNS 
STATE FOR AF/E AND PRM 
STATE/AF/E FOR NGARY 
STATE/PRM FOR AWENDT, MMCKELVEY 
NSC FOR TSHORTLEY 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
USMISSION UN ROME FODAG FOR RNEWBERG 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PHUM PREL SO
 
SUBJECT:  SOMALIA DART SITUATION REPORT 5 - BORDER 
CLOSURE 
 
 
NAIROBI 00000380  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶1.  On January 3, the Government of Kenya (GOK) 
officially closed the Kenya-Somalia border, preventing 
displaced people from crossing into Kenya and relief 
supplies from transiting into Somalia.  Liboi, El Wak, 
and Mandera on the Kenya side of the border are main 
transit points for refugees and relief supplies.  As of 
January 18, several UN agencies and non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs) have humanitarian supplies stuck 
in the Kenyan border towns of El Wak and Mandera.  The 
longer the border remains closed, the more difficult it 
will be for them to implement humanitarian programs in 
Somalia. 
 
¶2.  The USG Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) 
has contacted humanitarian agencies that have been 
affected by the two-week closure and report the 
following highlights from these discussions.  End 
Summary. 
 
DISPLACED PERSONS AND REFUGEES 
 
¶3.  On January 17, the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed continued 
concern for the displaced population in Dobley, 
Somalia, that has been prevented from crossing the 
border to the Liboi transit center.  Estimates of this 
population range between 4,000 and 14,000 people; 
verification of their numbers and basic needs can not 
take place without cross-border access.  UNHCR fears 
that some of the population is in need of medical 
attention, including some Dobley residents who would 
normally seek medical care in Liboi. 
 
¶4.  As a result of the border closure, the Dadaab 
refugee camps in Kenya have not received new Somali 
refugees since January 3.  In 2006, Daadab received 
approximately 32,000 Somali refugees bringing the camp 
population to more than 171,000 people, of which 98 
percent are Somali and the other 2 percent are 
Eritrean, Ethiopian, Tanzanian, and Congolese.  UNHCR 
continues to negotiate with the GOK and Somali 
Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to allow 
humanitarian access to Dobley. 
 
¶5.  Additionally, UNHCR reports that as of January 18, 
the joint GOK and UN assessment mission that was 
scheduled to assess humanitarian access and conditions 
of displaced people along the border has been postponed 
indefinitely.  The humanitarian community fears the 
border is unlikely to be officially re-opened in the 
near future. UNHCR Rep Gedalof called on the Ambassador 
January 18 to request additional USG intervention with 
the GOK.  The Ambassador told Gedalof he would write to 
both Ministers Tuju and Michuki urging them to ?green 
light? the GOK-UN joint assessment mission. 
 
TRANSPORT OF HUMANITARIAN SUPPLIES 
 
¶6.  UN agencies and non-governmental organizations 
(NGOs) have had increasing difficulty in transporting 
supplies into Somalia and reloading trucks from Somalia 
with supplies in Kenya.  WFP and UNICEF both report 
that permission to cross the border for humanitarian 
vehicles is unpredictable.  (The DART notes that this 
is likely linked to the security situation.) According 
to WFP from January 8 to 18, the Liboi border has 
 
NAIROBI 00000380  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
opened up to allow transit of trucks carrying relief 
commodities into Somalia, while Mandera and El Wak 
crossings have become more restricted. 
 
¶7.  On January 12, six relief trucks crossed into 
Somalia from El Wak.  However, empty WFP trucks 
continue to wait on the Somalia side for entry and 
reloading in Kenya.  Reportedly, the trucks are not 
allowed to re-enter Kenya because the Somali drivers 
can not be screened by GOK security officials.  On 
January 18, WFP reported that 40 trucks are stuck on 
the Somali side of the border unable to cross into 
Kenya to load 3,500 metric tons (MT) food, including 
cereals, pulses, corn-soy blend, and oil from El Wak 
warehouses in Kenya that is scheduled for distribution 
in Gedo Region in Somalia. 
 
¶8.  On January 14, three humanitarian trucks were 
permitted to cross into Somalia at Liboi.  The WFP 
convoy carrying 1,000 MT of WFP food had been stuck 
between Liboi and Dobley for several days before 
permission was granted for the convoy to proceed into 
Somalia. 
 
¶9.  Additionally, WFP reported that two UNCAS 
contracted trucks with 307 drums of jet 1-A fuel are 
stuck in Mandera, Kenya.  The trucks are en route to 
Wajid Airport in Somalia, where UNCAS has only 16 drums 
of fuel remaining.  Without a resupply of fuel to Wajid 
in the next two days humanitarian flights will be 
impacted.  WFP, UNICEF, WHO, UNCAS, and World Vision 
all have trucks stuck at the Kenya side of the border 
in Mandera. 
 
¶10.  In the last year, WFP has used contracting 
agencies that are responsible for transshipment, 
storage, and handling of commodities at the border. 
Transporters are increasingly concerned about the lack 
of security en route, particularly as they pass through 
areas with a power vacuum or ongoing fighting. 
Additionally, the contractors make grow tired of 
waiting for the border to open and seek employment 
elsewhere, further complicating WFP?s operations. 
 
¶11.  On January 18, UNICEF reported that seven trucks 
carrying relief supplies including 3,000 water 
containers, 10 water bladders, and office equipment 
have not been able to proceed through the Mandera, 
Kenya, border crossing for transit to Baidoa since 
January 13.  UNICEF has requested UN Development 
Program?s (UNDP) support in advocating with the GOK for 
permission to allow these supplies to be transported. 
Water containers and bladders are critically needed to 
provide safe drinking water for flood-affected 
communities in Bay Region. 
 
¶12.  At a January 16, Rift Valley fever (RVF) task 
force meeting in Nairobi, WHO reported that human 
samples taken from suspected RVF patients in Somalia 
were unable to be transported by road to laboratories 
in Kenya for confirmation, instead the samples were 
rerouted to Mogadishu and flown to Kenya.  Health 
agencies raised concerns about transporting medical 
supplies and technical staff who are needed to train 
animal and human health care workers on RVF prevention 
and surveillance techniques. 
 
¶13.  USAID partner International Medical Corps (IMC) 
 
NAIROBI 00000380  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
reported that they have not been able to bring medical 
supplies from Kenya for use in Belet Weyne, Somalia. 
Although IMC has pre-positioned medicine and nutrition 
supplies in the areas where they work, they need to 
restock health and feeding program supplies. 
Additionally, the border closure has prevented IMC from 
transporting biological samples needed to analyze the 
current diarrhea outbreak from Belet Weyne to Nairobi. 
 
¶14.  CARE staff and commodities for programs in Gedo 
Region in Somalia are located in Mandera.  In December, 
CARE distributed two-month food rations to their 
caseload there.  CARE does not have a distribution 
scheduled for January, but will need to distribute food 
again in February, which will be hampered if the border 
does not re-open. 
 
CONCLUSIONS 
 
¶15.  After two weeks of official border closure, the 
humanitarian impact is beginning to be felt.  With a 
prolonged closure, aid agencies will have to develop 
contingency plans to ensure uninterrupted delivery of 
humanitarian assistance.  In the foreseeable future, 
aid agencies transporting supplies across the Kenya- 
Somalia border will have to cope with unpredictable 
border regulations and adapt accordingly.  In the worst 
case scenario, air transport options may be adopted by 
some agencies, which will dramatically increase 
operational costs. 
 
¶16.  When the Somalia-Kenya border re-opens, thousands 
of refugees are likely to arrive in Kenya at Liboi or 
other transit stations.  WFP and UNHCR have already 
developed contingency plans for this scenario. 
However, a large influx will stress agencies? 
resources, especially in Dadaab camp. 
 
¶17.  The DART will continue to monitor the status of 
the Somalia-Kenya border and the transport of 
humanitarian supplies. 
 
RANNEBERGER