Authorities of the Abyei administrative area on Saturday said they had registered 1,565 returnees who fled conflict in Sudan.
On 15 April, fighting broke out in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), killing hundreds and forcing many people to flee to neighbouring countries.
Deng Juac, Abyei area’s director for Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), told Radio Tamazuj Saturday that the returnees arrived in Abyei on 19 April and were integrated into communities.
“We have recorded in the Abyei RRC office about 1,765 returnees who fled the Sudan conflict. The returnees came from Khartoum and Omdurman areas where fighting was intense and some were using the Kosti route to El Obeid and Fulla and then Amiet while others were using the river route from Omdurman to El Obeid and then Abyei,” he said.
“It is a process, we have integrated them into their families, and I held a meeting with humanitarian partners on Friday, and they (NGOs) will again assess the situation. The humanitarian partners met with state authorities too and talked to some returnees about the need for food and non-food items,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ajak Deng Miyen, Abyei area’s minister of information, confirmed that the returnees have already been integrated into the communities and that more returnees were still coming.
“Officials from World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) met with the chief administrator for the purpose of rapid assessment of the humanitarian situation in Abyei, and of course, returnees are coming from war zones in Sudan and they have been integrated into their communities,” he said.
Earlier this month, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, cautioned that the outbreak of violence in Sudan may deeply impact the chance for political progress on the disputed territory of Abyei and border issues.
The outbreak of fighting in Sudan also risks further complicating the already challenging humanitarian situation in Abyei, she pointed out.