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Juba - 14 May 2012

15,000 South Sudanese returnees flown to Juba

On Monday 15,000 South Sudanese returnees were flown from Khartoum to Juba.

The first plane chartered by the International Organisation for Migration took off at 9.00 this morning carrying 15,000 people, many of whom had spent their entire life in Sudan.

Sudanese officials also extended the deadline for South Sudanese citizens stranded at Kosti to May 20, although the IOM had said this would not allow enough time.

There are around 350,000 people of South sudanese origin in Kosti. The iOM's initial plans were to charter 6 flights a day but were delayed.

The IOM said even if there were six flights a day, transporting the returnees by bus to Khartoum from Kosti would take two weeks.

The IOM had originally planned to transport the returnees by ship from Kosti, but the Sudanese army reportedly expressed security concerns.