Despite the fact that the Kenyan border is officially closed and Kenyan authorities are not allowing asylum-seekers to cross into Kenya, the number of people arriving in the UNHCR-run Dadaab refugee complex situated near the Somali border in north-eastern Kenya continues to rise.

Since May, more than 13,000 Somali refugees have been registered at Dadaab, bringing to 36,000 the number of Somali refugees who have arrived in the camp since the beginning of the year, Redmond said.

According to UNHCR, the actual number of new arrivals is much higher since many of them head directly to urban centers like Nairobi, Mombasa and Garissa. Dadaab refugee complex now hosts more than 284,306 refugees.