About 15,000 returnees from refugee camps in Uganda need humanitarian support in Mundri County of Western Equatoria State.

The communities were affected by the 2016 conflict in which thousands of people were killed and thousands fled to neighboring countries for safety.

Speaking to the Radio Tamazuj the Coordinator for the County Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) in Mundri West, James Friday says they have received over 2,000 households in the last three months.

“The number of people who have arrived is 15,024 individuals which are 2,504 households, this is the figure we have here. They come from Uganda to here in Mundri and they say they heard that there is safety in the county. They say they are suffering in Uganda because the food ratio in the camps has been reduced and they are not able to pay school fees for their children," he said.

Friday is appealing to the government and humanitarian organizations to support the returnees whom he says have nothing to restart life.

He said, "We have nothing that we can help them with, they need humanitarian assistance like shelter, mosquito nets, food items, and other basic needs that is why am asking the humanitarian organizations to support those people.”

Nathalin Doruba, a resident of Mundri who left for Uganda more than four years ago says she is happy to back and feels secure in her county.

“The reason why I came back to my country is there is an improvement in the security, that is why with all the challenges am facing in Uganda I have to come back home,” she added. 

Cyrus Sebit, another resident who came back from Uganda in November says he came with nine family members but has no shelter and is now living under a tree. “What has made me come back is, as a responsible person, you cannot just be in a place where you cannot express your responsibility like paying your children at school because you and your children become vulnerable. You also cannot develop in a country that is not yours. That is why I came back."

On Wednesday last week, the UNHCR Commissioner Filippo Grandi visited Yambio, to assess the condition of returnees from Congo and the Central African Republic in Makpandu Refugees Camp in Yambio. 

“If there is security and rule of law many more refugees will return, and we will help them. We will also help the communities here who received them. We are working with the returnees and IDPs whom I met, we are supporting them with shelter, water, food, and other items," he said.

On his part, Western Equatoria State governor Alfred Futuyo Karaba assured the returnees of safety and called on the UNHCR to support the development of schools, health centers, and water access for the returnees.