Sixty displaced persons have arrived in Bentiu, Unity State after the government and Oil Company airlifted them on Saturday 3rd July 2024. The IDPs comprised people who were recently displaced from Sudan and those who have been in the Juba camp.
The Secretary General of the Unity State government, Hon. Tutdieng Kuol said the initiative to bring back home the IDPs is being led by the state authorities to support the individual who expressed willingness to be resettled.
He explained that some displaced persons in Juba find it best to return to Bentiu and will be transported to their respective counties after the security situation that forced them to stay in the camp stopped.
“The state government has taken the initiative on the request of the returnees because they apply to return home and be settled in their previous places. I just spoke with the UNHCR, IOM, and other NGOs bodies to support them with necessary needs.”
The Secretary-General [Kuol] said the government is making more preparations to transport other people who are ready to return home free of charge and those who express interest will be registered.
“The government has the primary duty to transport people back to their places, people said they want to go to Bentiu because the state is now stable. They have heard that there is peace and stability in Bentiu. Therefore, they have taken this decision to come back to their original places voluntarily without being forced to come,” he said.
The returnees comprise women and children with few men among them. One of the returnees is Nyabol Ruei who spent 5 months in Juba after being displaced in Sudan and expressed happiness to be back home. She said life was difficult at the Juba IDP camp which made her family decide to come back to Bentiu.
“We came here to support our government and still being in the camp makes us depend on the UN food. We believe to cultivate and get assistance from the state,” she stated.
Another returnee Nyachak Gatluak appreciated the leader of the new Governor for taking the initiative. She says many of them stay in Juba due to a lack of ability to reach Bentiu or their place of origin.
“Bentiu is my home and that’s the place all my relatives stay. People will be able to see our suffering if we lack food or other basic needs,” she said.
The conflict in South Sudan has forced hundreds of people to be sheltered at the internally displaced persons camps in many parts of the country including Juba, Malakal, and Wau. The parties who signed the revitalized agreement are implementing the deal and expect to conduct an election in December this year.