Hundreds of Sudanese refugees who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), some for as long as two decades, have returned home in the latest repatriation undertaken by the United Nations refugee agency, an official has said.
"At least 400 Sudanese refugees have been repatriated to southern Sudan from the Aba area of northeastern DRC," Jens Hesemann, an external relations officer with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in the capital, Kinshasa, on Wednesday.
Aba is the largest Sudanese refugee site in the DRC accommodating 5,000 people.
"Today's repatriation marks the launch of a new phase of Sudanese refugee repatriation from northeastern DRC," Hesemann said. "The refugees are eager to return to their country following the conclusion of a tripartite agreement between Sudan, the DRC and UNHCR in January."
The agreement paved the way for Sudanese and Congolese refugees to return home from either country. Over the years, refugees have fled in both directions, seeking safety from the instability in their countries.
"This substantive turnout for voluntary repatriation is not the only sign that the Sudanese refugees desire to go home. Some have already returned spontaneously using their own means," he said.
Refugees who returned to southern Sudan received a return package comprising construction materials, household items and a three-month food ration before being taken to their home areas in Sudan's Equatoria region - mainly to Yei, Maridi, Yambio and Mundri.
At least 3,200 Sudanese refugees in Aba, in Congo's Orientale Province, have registered with the UNHCR for voluntary repatriation, the UNHCR spokesperson, Ron Redmond said on Tuesday in Geneva.
The DRC still hosts 13,000 Sudanese refugees, Redmond said.
"Regular returns from Aba are expected to continue over the coming months at the rate of one convoy a week," he said.
Earlier this year, the UNHCR organised the repatriation of at least 1,600 Sudanese refugees from the Aru area, also in northeastern DRC, he said.
There are still 350,000 Sudanese refugees in camps in the neighbouring countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Central African Republic and four million internally displaced persons from South Sudan, half in the south itself and in the Khartoum and Kassala areas, he said.
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"At least 400 Sudanese refugees have been repatriated to southern Sudan from the Aba area of northeastern DRC," Jens Hesemann, an external relations officer with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in the capital, Kinshasa, on Wednesday.
Aba is the largest Sudanese refugee site in the DRC accommodating 5,000 people.
"Today's repatriation marks the launch of a new phase of Sudanese refugee repatriation from northeastern DRC," Hesemann said. "The refugees are eager to return to their country following the conclusion of a tripartite agreement between Sudan, the DRC and UNHCR in January."
The agreement paved the way for Sudanese and Congolese refugees to return home from either country. Over the years, refugees have fled in both directions, seeking safety from the instability in their countries.
"This substantive turnout for voluntary repatriation is not the only sign that the Sudanese refugees desire to go home. Some have already returned spontaneously using their own means," he said.
Refugees who returned to southern Sudan received a return package comprising construction materials, household items and a three-month food ration before being taken to their home areas in Sudan's Equatoria region - mainly to Yei, Maridi, Yambio and Mundri.
At least 3,200 Sudanese refugees in Aba, in Congo's Orientale Province, have registered with the UNHCR for voluntary repatriation, the UNHCR spokesperson, Ron Redmond said on Tuesday in Geneva.
The DRC still hosts 13,000 Sudanese refugees, Redmond said.
"Regular returns from Aba are expected to continue over the coming months at the rate of one convoy a week," he said.
Earlier this year, the UNHCR organised the repatriation of at least 1,600 Sudanese refugees from the Aru area, also in northeastern DRC, he said.
There are still 350,000 Sudanese refugees in camps in the neighbouring countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Central African Republic and four million internally displaced persons from South Sudan, half in the south itself and in the Khartoum and Kassala areas, he said.
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