Osire is a refugee camp

Refugee camp

A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, or NGOs.Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu...

 in central Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

, situated 200 km north of the capital Windhoek

Windhoek

Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...

 on the main road C30 from Gobabis

Gobabis

Gobabis is a town in eastern Namibia. It is the regional capital of the Omaheke Region, and the district capital of the Gobabis electoral constituency. Gobabis is situated down the B6 motorway from Windhoek to Botswana. The town is from the Buitepos border post with Botswana, and serves as an...

 to Otjiwarongo

Otjiwarongo

Otjiwarongo is a city of 20,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Otjiwarongo electoral constituency and also the capital of Otjozondjupa....

. Established in 1992 the refugee population of Osire stood at 6.500 in 2010 after having reached a peak of 20.000 in 1998. The majority (75%) of refugees came from Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

, and a sizeable portion from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

.

The camp used to be a detention centre during the South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n rule over Namibian territory. Throughout its existence as refugee camp maltreatment of inhabitants, retaliation, harassment and riots have been reported. In 2009 a group of 41 people fled the camp with the help of a local Human Rights organisation after allegedly having received death threats. This group left Namibia via the Mamuno Border Post but was refused entry to Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

 and as a result stayed in No Man's Land

No Man's Land

No man's land is an unoccupied area between two opposing positions.No Man's Land may also refer to:-Places:In the United Kingdom* No Man's Land, Cornwall, England* No Man's Land Fort, off the coast of England* Nomansland, Devon, England...

between Namibia and Botswana for three months until being arrested by Botswana authorities and deported to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.