Human Rights Watch (HRW) has strongly criticized Kenya's mistreatment of Somalis in the country, saying Nairobi treats the refugees as scapegoats.


“Scapegoating and abusing Somalis for heinous attacks by unknown people is not going to protect Kenyans, Somalis, or anyone else against more attacks,” said HRW's Gerry Simpson on Friday.

The comments come as Kenyan security forces have rounded up thousands of Somali refugees over the past week as part of an operation to fight what they call terrorists.

Kenya's Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku has said close to 4,000 people have been detained in the operation, and 82 of them flown back to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

Hundreds of refugees are still being kept under poor conditions and preventing Somalis from seeking refuge in the country is a clear violation of international law, the human rights body said.

Human Rights Watch has also told Nairobi that mistreating and abusing Somalis over the deadly attacks on the Westgate shopping mall by unknown assailants last year will not protect Kenyans.

The al-Shabab fighter group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the raid was in retaliation for the Kenyan military’s invasion of southern Somalia in October 2011.

"Kenya's deportation of Somalis to their conflict-ridden country without allowing them to seek asylum would be a flagrant breach of its legal obligations," Simpson concluded.