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Sudan Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 20 | 26 November – 23 December 2018 [EN/AR]

Countries
Sudan
+ 1 more
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

Highlights

  • About 10,000 IDPs return to their home areas in Kass locality, South Darfur.
  • Following updated population statistics, the number of South Sudanese refugees in Sudan has reached over 851,000.
  • About 40,000 residents, IDPs and nomads in Central Darfur now have better access to clean water.
  • Cash shortages are affecting humanitarian operations throughout the country.
  • The Khartoum declaration on cross-border health security will allow countries to better address public health threats.

Thousands of IDPs return to their home areas in South Darfur’s Kass locality

About 10,000 internally displaced persons (about 2,050 families) have spontaneously returned to their villages of origin (Kalu, Komba, Morotoga, Musobikira, Brunga El Fil, Dawis, Karende) in Kass locality, South Darfur, according to initial findings of an interagency mission carried out from 27 November to 3 December. The security was calm in all the villages reached and the returnees intend to stay permanently, the mission found. The returnees had fled their homes between 2004 and 2005 following the eruption of conflict in Darfur and took refuge in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Kass locality.

Sheikhs (community leaders) reported that a further 1,373 families (about 7,000 people) had voluntarily returned to villages nearby. An additional 65 families (about 300 people) have seasonally returned to Warow village in the area. The houses in Warow were built with local materials (temporary) and most of them were unoccupied as their owners had yet to return for farming.

Recommendation by the assessment team include for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to register the returnees (to determine the amount humanitarian supplies needed); providing basic services such as health, water, sanitation and hygiene, education, food, livelihood assistance and security; training and capacity-building for members of the peace-coexistence committee and the native administrative, including local authorities; regular patrols by security forces to protect crops and support the peace coexistence committee tackle cases of agricultural land disputes; and establishing peace coexistence committees in return villages where they do not exist.

The mission was comprised of representatives from the Government’s Voluntary Return and Resettlement Commission (VRRC), the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and two community leaders.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.