'UN mum on organ trafficking in camps'

 

Sun Sep 4, 2011 3:33PM GMT

A photo showing Somali refugees queuing in front of private jet planes to sell body organs. (file photo)

The United Nations has turned a blind eye to a widespread organ trafficking activity taking place in Kenyan camps hosting famine-hit Somali refugees, reports say.

Some 10 photos were captured by Osman Sagirli, a reporter from the Turkish newspaper Turkiye, after having spent 33 days in the refugee camps.

The photos, which show refugees queuing in front of private jets to sell body organs they are holding in boxes, reveals that the UN is keeping mum on the rampant activity of international organ trafficking gangs in the camps.

Sagirli managed to capture the photos in an airport run by the UN, located near the UN's Dadaab camp in Kenya.

The report further added that the destinations for the organs are wealthy Western nations, as some of the organs could be sold for about USD 100,000.

Somalis fleeing drought and famine often seek refuge in Kenya and many of them reach the Dadaab camp, which now holds some 500,000 refugees. This is while it was designed to only hold maximum 90,000.

The Kenyan government has on several occasions said that the daily influx of Somali refugees in the country is unmanageable.

MGH/PM/JR