More than a dozen civilians from Mendi in the Nuba Mountains have recently departed from SPLM/A-North controlled territory to areas controlled by the Sudanese government.

A local leader confirmed that nine women and four men left the area on 29 February to Tolodi.

“Those people did not leave because they were hungry – they left a lot of food inside their homes,” he said.

He pointed out that they were not armed civilians and had not committed any crime.

Adulrahman Osman, an SPLA-North commander, confirmed the incident explaining, “The main reason for the citizens to leave was that they have husbands on the other side... their husbands are in Talodi.”

He stressed that some families missed their love ones due to the long war, which separated some families between SPLA-North and government areas.

Osman said that one of the women who left had already attempted three times unsuccessfully to leave and finally succeeded on her fourth attempt.