IOM airlifts stranded South Sudanese from Kosti

The repatriation effort began when the Sudanese government ordered the South Sudanese to leave the country end of April.

On Monday, May 14, the first two International Organization for Migration (IOM)-chartered flights arrived in Juba, the South Sudanese capital, from Khartoum carrying a total of 326 people.

Vincent Houver, IOM head of mission for South Sudan. (14.05.2012/Waakhe Simon Wudu).This is the beginning of the repatriation of 12,000 South Sudanese who are currently stranded in Kosti,” said Vincent Houver, the IOM Head of Mission in South Sudan.

They will be returning gradually over the next weeks,” Houver stated. As time passes, we will increase the flights to six per day.”

The returnees, according to Houver, will remain in Juba for the time being as they await their luggage, which is being ferried from Kosti by river transport. They will then relocate to their states.

The returning South Sudanese were warmly welcomed by state and national government officials and representatives from humanitarian partners, including the Red Cross, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and IOM among others. The Red Cross immediately provided aid to those who had fallen ill or were in need of assistance.

Joseph Lual Acuil, South Sudan’s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, speaks to the press (14.05.2012/Waakhe Simon Wudu).The South Sudanese government expressed its gratitude to all the partners contributing to the safe relocation of the returnees and reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring the arrival of the returnee’s luggage.

We are very happy, and the president is also happy, that the first batch of citizens has arrived safely,” said Joseph Lual Acuil, minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management.

The government of South Sudan pays a lot of respect and sends thanks and gratitude to the people in Khartoum who have participated in making it possible for our people in Kosti to be repatriated successfully in this manner,” Acuil announced.

He also expressed appreciation for the role played by the IOM and UN agencies facilitating the process.

Ceaser Sisto, one of the returnees, speaks to the press after his arrival at Juba airport (14.05.2012/Waakhe Simon Wudu).Sisto Ceaser, a parent to five children waiting to move to Eastern Equatoria, had lived in Khartoum for fourteen years, ever since his displacement from South Sudan. He too expressed his gratitude and was excited to have arrived home.

Life was not hard in Khartoum. It’s only of late that life started becoming hard,” Ceaser said. I have arrived home. I’m very happy. Seeing the environment is very interesting, making me remember those years when I was still young here,” he added.

The returnees had been stranded in Kosti for at least thirteen months, along with those still there, because the Sudanese government closed the road in 2011 as a result of political tensions with South Sudan.

IOM says that more than 300,000 South Sudanese have returned home from Sudan since October 2011. Another 500,000 are estimated to still be living there.

Prior to South Sudan’s independence last July, tensions rose over the failure to resolve a number of post-secession issues, including oil, Abyei, border demarcation, and citizenship.