Rains halt refugee return operation

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had suspended the repatriation of Eritrean refugees from Sudan due to heavy rains, UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski, said in press briefing on 20 July. The repatriation of more than 174,000 refugees had been suspended after rains cut some roads from camps in western Sudan, and the flooding of the Gash Barka river in the area of Eritrea to which most of the refugees were to return, he said. In the meantime, UNHCR is continuing to register for repatriation Eritrean refugees living in Port Sudan on the Red Sea. Janowski said the agency expected to use a ship to repatriate them to Massawa. Around 4,000 Eritrean refugees are living in camps in Port Sudan, with thousands more staying in the town itself. Since the start of the repatriation on 12 May, nearly 21,000 refugees had gone home, while 28,000 in 12 of the 23 camps in western Sudan had registered for repatriation, Janowski said. The repatriation operation is expected to resume at the end of the rainy season in early September. UNHCR expected to aid the return of another 40,000 refugees by the end of the year, Janowski said.