Liboi () is a town in

Garissa County Garissa County is a county in Kenya located in Eastern Kenya bordering Somalia to the East, Wajir County and Isiolo County to the North, Tana River County to the West, Lamu County to the South and the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest ur ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, at the border with

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Location

The town is located approximately , by road, north-east of

Garissa Garissa ( Arabic: قارسا) is the capital of Garissa County, Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province. Geography The Tana River, which rises in Mount Kenya east of Nyeri, flows through Garissa. The Bour-Algi Giraffe ...

, the location of the county headquarters. Liboi is located about east of

Dadaab Dadaab () is a semi-arid town in Garissa County, Kenya. It is the site of a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR base hosting 426,822 registered refugees and asylum seekers as of 28 February 2025, in four refugee camp, camps (Daga ...

. This is approximately , by road, northeast of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, the capital and largest city in Kenya. The coordinates of Liboi are: 00°21'20.0"N, 40°52'32.0"E ().

Overview

Liboi is an administrative location in Liboi division, one of eleven administrative divisions of the

. Liboi location has a total population of 11,440, as of 2009. Electorally Liboi is a ward and part of ''Dadaab Constituency''. Liboi Airport, which lies within the town, serves Liboi and neighboring communities.

History

On 6 September 1940, Liboi was the site of fighting during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

between Allied forces under British command and Italian colonial forces. The Italians secured a victory in this war. This was the first engagement of the war involving

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n troops. In the early 1990s, at the beginning of the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

, Liboi was the site of a major

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

. In 1992, 50,000 Somalis were living near Liboi.

References

{{reflist

External links

Website of Garissa County Government

Populated places in Garissa County Refugee camps in Kenya Kenya–Somalia border crossings