People displaced from Abyei after the region was invaded by the Sudan Armed Forces last May, have started a slow return towards their homelands.
Until last week over a dozen people were crossing the recently repaired Banton Bridge linking Agok and Abyei town every day while this week the daily crossings rose to some 60 people, with fewer numbers reportedly crossing back, UNOCHA wrote in its latest Sudan Weekly Humanitarian Bulletin.A Dinka Ngok committee registering returnees says some families are still assessing the situation and the majority of those crossing the bridge are leaving their children south of Kiir River.
At the same time, people are returning to areas immediately south of the Kiir River.
A report says that about 3,500 people, including approximately 2,000 children, are in Abathok village, immediately south of the river, 17 kilometers south of Abyei town.