Severe flooding in six Sudanese states has led the members of
Sudan’s Joint Return Task Force to postpone Nile barge
operations to return internally displaced people to their homes in
the south of the country when the rainy season ends in early
October.

With the Southern Sudanese government declaring Upper Nile,
Jonglei, Unity, Northern Bahr El Ghazal, Lakes and Warrap States as
disaster areas, voluntary returns by river barge have been put on
hold to ensure the safety of returning internally displaced
people.

So far, 451 displaced Sudanese have been assisted to return home
to Shambe and Bor in Jonglei state from Kosti on the White Nile by
barge. Another barge return had been planned for early next month
from Kosti to Malakal in Upper Nile state.

The halt comes as air operations to return displaced people from
Khartoum to former homes in Central and Western Equatoria via Juba
continue on IOM-chartered planes after the destruction of a key
bridge by flood waters near Yei delayed the return for safety
reasons of a group of returnees bound for their home town of Maridi
in Western Equatoria. The group of 75 had already been registered
and medically screened for return by IOM on 22 July and will now be
flown from Khartoum to Juba on 28 July and from Juba to Maridi on
29 July.

In new operational developments, the United Nations Mission in
Sudan (UNMIS) is now logistically assisting the return operation by
generously providing cargo flights from Khartoum to Juba to
transport the 1-2 metric cubes of luggage each displaced family is
permitted to take back home with them.

Since air operations began on 10 July, 778 people have returned
to their homes in Southern Sudan. Overall, about 44,000 displaced
South Sudanese have been assisted as part of the Joint Return Plan
of the Government of National Unity (GoNU), Government of Southern
Sudan (GoSS) and the United Nations and which is implemented by IOM
to help those displaced by decades of war between north and south
Sudan, go home.

For further information, please contact:

Simona Opitz

IOM Khartoum

Tel: +249 912339700

E-mail: "mailto:sopitz@iom.int">sopitz@iom.int