A significant number of Blue Nile refugees including primary school pupils who were living in Maban County in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state are reportedly returning back to SPLA-N controlled areas in Sudan’s Blue Nile state.

This comes after an outbreak of violence in the state last month. Food shortages have also been recurring in Maban County since earlier this year and international aid organizations are now offering reduced services.

Balla Nail, a head master at Maguf Primary School in Blue Nile, told Radio Tamazuj Monday that students continue to pour into rebel-held areas in Blue Nile seeking educational opportunities.

He said the returning students are being distributed to the existing schools in the area. About 6,000 pupils are facing poor conditions owing to lack of textbooks, seats and shortage of teachers, according Nail.

File photo: A primary school at Yida refugee camp