No repatriation for Eritrean refugees

Arrangements to repatriate Eritrean refugees in Sudan had not materialised over the past year because of the Eritrea-Ethiopia border conflict, the prevailing state of relations between Sudan and Eritrea, and the “unwillingness” of Eritrea “to take back its nationals”, the Secretary-General’s report said. During the period, UNHCR assisted 147,302 Eritrean and 11,889 Ethiopian refugees living in camps in eastern Sudan, it said. An estimated 232,000 urban refugees also received limited assistance. Meanwhile, some 8,865 Ugandan and Congolese refugees were estimated to be living in southern Sudan. The Congolese refugees included 334 people, mainly women and children, who arrived in Juba in early 1997, the report added.