Thousands of southerners leave Kosti heading south, UN says
07 November, 2013Khartoum, (Sudanow) - Some 2,500 South Sudanese stranded in Kosti, central Sudan, started their journey to South Sudan, two years after south ceased from Sudan forming its own state, in 2011.
According to the to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) weekly bulletin receivecd by sudanow.info.sd in Khartoum, On 4 November, the African Inland Church (AIC), in collaboration with the Government of Sudan’s IDP Centre and the South Sudanese Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) , started the repatriation of an estimated 2,500 people of South Sudanese origin from Kosti, White Nile State to South Sudan.
According to the UN bulletin these people had been stranded at Kosti railway station since 2011.
A report carried by OCHA bulletin said the convoy was composed of 52 passenger buses and 30 luggage-carrying trucks. Two of the buses went to Renk and Upper Nile State, while the remaining 50 buses went to Wau and Aweil in South Sudan.
“The buses reached South Sudan on 6 November” OCHA report said.
It explained that an estimated 40,000 people of South Sudanese origin are still stranded at 40 different departure points across Khartoum State, waiting for transportation to South Sudan.
“These departure points have become squatter camps, with people living in “appalling conditions”, according to humanitarian organisations.” OCHA stressed, adding that according to a media report on 2 November, the Government of Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) said that preparations were underway to start the movement of these people.
The UN said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is currently focussing on helping the 20,000 most vulnerable people return to South Sudan. A recent survey of South Sudanese living at the Khartoum departure points, found that 98 per cent want to return to South Sudan immediately. IOM estimates that it will cost US$20 million to transport them.
However, despite repeated pleas for funding, and the appalling living conditions at the departure points, no funding has yet been made available, the report complained.
Estimates regarding the overall number of people of South Sudanese origin remaining in Sudan vary significantly. While the Government of Sudan estimates that there are 220,000 of South Sudanese origin in Sudan, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) puts this figure much higher at 350,000. According to IOM, more than 2 million people returned to South Sudan from Sudan since 2005.
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