IOM Airlift Moves 1,890 South Sudanese to Juba from Khartoum
Five days into the IOM airlift of stranded South Sudanese from
Khartoum to Juba, a total of 1,890 South Sudanese have arrived in
the South Sudan capital. Some 600 more are scheduled to arrive
today.
The airlift, which began with two flights a day, is now up to
four flights a day, each carrying about 150 passengers. IOM plans
to increase the number of flights to six per day to complete the
movement in the next few weeks.
The passengers, many of whom were previously stranded at the
Kosti way station 300kms south of Khartoum for several months, are
met by IOM teams at Juba airport. After being registered, they are
transferred to transit facilities.
The first 1,292 returnees to arrive were taken to a
UNHCR-managed transit centre in Juba. But the facilities at the
centre have now reached near full capacity.
In the days leading up to the beginning of the operation, IOM
had worked intensively to identify a transit centre large enough to
accommodate most of the expected 12,000 returnees. A number of
locations were identified by the South Sudanese authorities and
were assessed by IOM and its partners before agreement was reached
on a site located on the outskirts of Juba. The area, which is
normally used as a teacher training facility, is adequately
equipped to receive returnees.
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South Sudanese Returnees Assisted by IOM
IOM has now established emergency shelter facilities on the site
to accommodate an initial 1,000 returnees. It also prepared an
additional 1,500 family shelter kits and tents. IOM’s
humanitarian partners are providing clean water, food, health and
other services. The first returnees were transferred to the site on
17th May.
"The majority of the returnees previously stranded in Kosti have
indicated Juba as their destination. But many do not have family or
community support within Juba," says IOM South Sudan Chief of
Mission Vincent Houver.
"This essentially means that incoming returnees are likely to
remain at the transit site until durable solutions are identified,
including the allocation of land for them to kick-start their lives
– typically a long and difficult process," he adds.
Meanwhile, 1,917 returnees from Renk in South Sudan’s
Upper Nile State arrived at Juba port on 16th May by barge. The
group, which left Renk two weeks ago, included 732 people who had
their own means of transport to reach their final
destination.
Following on-arrival health checks, IOM transported 512
returnees to the UNHCR-managed transit centre on the 16th. The
remaining 673 were taken to the new transit site on the
17th.
Renk now represents the only viable entry point into South Sudan
for returnees travelling overland from Sudan. As a result, large
groups of returnees have been stranded there.
The town, whose economy has been crippled by the closure of
cross-border trade, currently hosts upwards of 18,000 returnees, in
a security environment that has deteriorated sharply in recent
weeks.
Despite those security concerns, spontaneous returns have been
on the increase, with approximately 1,200 new arrivals per week,
according to Houver.
Earlier in March, over 1,300 South Sudanese returnees were
caught in cross-fire near the town of Heglig, forcing them to turn
back and enter South Sudan through Renk. IOM transported the group
to Malakal by road and then by air to their final
destinations.
Over the past two weeks, IOM South Sudan has provided return
assistance to upwards of 5,000 stranded returnees. IOM and the
humanitarian community estimate that some 100,000 South Sudanese
nationals may return to South Sudan in the coming months.
For more information please contact:
Vincent Houver
IOM Juba
Tel: +211 922 406 615
Email:
"mailto:vhouver@iom.int">vhouver@iom.int