The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said Tuesday it was holding consultations with the Kenyan government to open an additional refugee camp in northeast Kenya.

Speaking during a meeting in Nairobi with Kenya's Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang, visiting UNHCR Deputy Commissioner Craig Johnstone said the additional camp in Fafi district will cater for an influx of the refugees from war-ravaged Somalia.

Daadab, the largest camp for those fleeing conflict in Somalia, has already hosted 240,000 refugees against a capacity of 90,000.

Johnstone said the UN agency is working with the World Food Program (WFP) to ensure the refugees do not go hungry as a result of the current famine being experienced in many parts of the country.

The UN agency said about 55,000 more people fled into the east African nation last year and an additional 3,000 crossed the border in January alone.

Kajwang said the Kenyan government is also grappling with two competing interests of protecting the refugees and controlling their influx.

The local community has also complained about the effect of the swelling refugee population on the environment and the meager resources available in the arid northeastern region.

Johnstone is for visiting the Kenya refugee program for three days starting Tuesday and is scheduled to hold several meetings with senior government officials, including Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Johnstone will on Wednesday visit Dadaab refugee camp in Garissa district, which is hosting more than 235,000 refugees, the overwhelming majority of them from Somalia.

On Thursday, Johnstone will visit Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana district, which currently hosts more than 51,000 refugees who are mainly from Sudan.