Refugees from Sudan’s South Kordofan residing at Yida refugee camp have once again rejected calls for them to move to a new camp, considering the location unfit for accommodation and insecure.
Speaking with Radio Tamazuj a number of refugees claimed that there are disputes and ongoing meetings between the United Nations and refugee leaders to discuss Jamjang camp, which is located very close to the border with South Kordofan.
‘We completely rejected the decision,’ claimed one source pointing out that, ‘if our leaders and the UN officers have agreed on the relocation of the camp to Jamjang, then they will have to look for other refugees to be sent there, not us.
They attributed the reason for their refusal to move to the new camp’s location, only 15km from some of the Sudanese states which they fled from. They further claimed that the camp is not suitable to accommodate the refugees and is unfit for settlement.
They further complained that, if the United Nations insists on transferring the refugees to the new location, it shows that it is not vigilant in its approach to the security and protection of the refugees.
Refugee camps within Unity and Upper Nile states suffered from significant flooding during the rainy season last year which reportedly affected sanitation and increased the rate of disease in the camps.