The border between Nimule and neighboring Uganda has opened after being closed over the weekend to discourage Madi residents from crossing as refugees.
High tensions in Nimule and rumours of insecurity caused many local residents to flee the area to Uganda. The number has not been tallied. Authorities shut the border in order to stem the flow of refugees. The crossing was not closed to commercial traffic but only to ethnic Madis, according to local sources.
But on Sunday a member of the state parliament representing Nimule and another of the national parliament held a rally trying to calm the situation.
According to a citizen inside Nimule town, the market is open and life in the town is moving on normally. He said the border was opened yesterday after the intervention of the county commissioner.
People are now able to move freely and owing to the easing of tensions in the area fewer Madi residents are now seeking to flee, he said.
Another citizen in Mugale Payam, located about 12 km east of Nimule, likewise said that the border has been opened.
However, he said that many people are still leaving the area for Uganda and nobody is coming back.
Related:
MPs seek to calm situation in Nimule (7 Dec.)
S. Sudanese troops seek to block refugees fleeing Nimule to Uganda (6 Dec.)