More Than 300 Somali Refugees Turned Away At Kenyan Border

Kenya sealed its border with Somalia on Tuesday and sent troops to reinforce the area, as Islamist fighters headed south following last week's capture of the Somali capital Mogadishu. Kenyan authorities have increased the vigilance of their refugee screening because of the possible influx of Islamist militia members.

The UN's refugee agency UNHCR said the 340-person deportation was in violation of international law and that the Kenya Red Cross was restricted from assisting the refugees across the border, according to the BBC.

"We are taking up this matter with the government officials because it's against international law to deny people access to humanitarian assistance under such circumstances," UNHCR spokeswoman Millicent Mutuli told the BBC.

Somalia's newly-powerful transitional government reopened its land and sea borders on Tuesday, a move that may signal a semblance of its authority over the anarchic country. It did not lift a land border restriction, however.