South Kordofan: 258 displaced families return to villages

The Humanitarian Aid Commissioner in Sudan’s South Kordofan, Maj Gen Khidir El Taweel, has announced the voluntary return of 258 displaced families to El Sabouri and Um Ifein in the eastern part of the state.

He said that since the end of 2018, more than 6,250 people returned voluntarily to the villages around the state capital of Kadugli, and in the areas of Um Dorein and El Buram.

He pointed out that in the next phase the work will be moved to Dilleng and Dalami, and then to Abbasiya, Abu Karshola, and Abu Jubeiha.

He stressed that the decision of President Omar Al Bashir to extend the government’s cease-fire in the area has contributed greatly to the return of people to their villages of origin.

Voluntary return is one of the options which the Sudanese government gives to the millions people in Darfur and the rest of Sudan who have been displaced by the armed conflict that erupted in 2003. Khartoum has been seeking to empty or abolish camps and it also makes plans for the transformation of the camps into residential areas, or to make camps integrate into existing cities and towns.