People that have families and friends still living in the Sudan are worried at what may happen after April 8 as the deadline for the South Sudanese in Sudan to either leave or declare citizenship ends.
Hundreds of thousands of Southerners living in the Sudan won’t be able to return home in less than one month and talks between the two governments on citizenship and nationality issues have stalled in Addis Ababa.CRN listened to the worries of some citizens living in Juba and registered also the views of the Government and the opposition.
Martha Ayak said she is concerned with the security of her relatives in Khartoum as they wait for transportation back home.
She added that some relatives said the situation in Khartoum is worse and many southerners have neither money nor support to return to South Sudan.
Mary Wani lamented that Khartoum was making the returns difficult by closing roads and the river to Southerners.
She added that Southerners live in fear and without hope in the Sudan.
National Government deputy spokesperson Atem Yaak Atem said he is not surprised that Khartoum is so strict with the headline since the National Congress Party is angry with the independence of South Sudan.
He added that Khartoum should allow Southerners to come home calmly.
Mr Yaak said the Government does not have any problem with the Sudanese living in South Sudan.
Minority leader Adigo Onyoti blamed the situation on negative negotiations by the team from South Sudan that victimized the Southerners in Sudan.
IOM, the International Organization for Migration, plays a critical role in repatriation and brought tens of thousands to South Sudan.
It said it won’t be able to meet the April 8 deadline to bring more than 500,000 Southerners from Sudan to South Sudan.