The government says it has not received any formal communication from Kenyan authorities about their plans to close down Kakuma and Dabaab refugee camps which host thousands of South Sudanese refugees.

The Kenyan government last week notified the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to quickly start to put in place measures to facilitate the repatriation of refugees from the country.

Over 4, 000 South Sudanese refugees are currently seeking shelter at the camps in Kakuma and Dabaab. They started fleeing to the camps since the outbreak of the conflict in December 2013.

The camps also host refugees from other countries of conflict like Somalia, Congo, and the Central Africa Republic, among others.

In a letter to UNHCR, the Kenyan ministry of interior says the decision was reached after receiving reports that members of the Somali’s terrorist group were using the camps as refugees.

But the South Sudan government says it is yet to consult the government on the matter.

“The government and the Kenyan government plus the UN taking care of these refugees will have to sit and see the modalities of how to implement it,” said Jimmy Deng Makuac, Minister for Plenipotentiary in the South Sudan Embassy in Kenya.

“We are monitoring it very closely, but of course it will take time because as you know, there are thousands of refugees and we need a proper plan on how to repatriate them.”

Ajak Dhuol is a refugee living in the Kakuma camp in Kenya.

She says authorities in the camps have suspended delivery of some services in the camp and reception of new arrivals.

“Maybe you want travel documents, some people need to be resettled, but those offices are not working,” she told Eye Radio. “And even getting rations for new arrivals [is not possible now].”

In the letter to the UNHCR, the Kenyan government also says it has for years, shouldered heavy economic, social and environmental burden on behalf of the region and can no longer continue to host refugees.

Previous attempts by the Kenyan government to close Kakuma and Dadaab camps were met with stiff opposition from the United Nations, the African Union and the region.