IOM return operations to assist some of the longest displaced
populations in Sudan have resumed, with the first convoy of
internally displaced persons (IDPs) leaving Ed Daein in South
Darfur for South Sudan this week.

Almost 200 people left on buses and trucks, escorted by IOM
staff and medical team. The African Union supplied a security
escort up until an IOM way station at Kubu near the river Kiir
which runs along the border of South Darfur and Northern Bahr el
Ghazal State in South Sudan.

Last year, IOM assisted nearly 7,900 IDPs from various locations
in South Darfur to their homes in Northern Bahr el Ghazal in a
similar assisted return operation until the onset of the rainy
season in May stopped movements.

"Due to the combination of the heavy seasonal rains and the
topography, the operating window on this route is very short,"
explained Gerry Waite, Programme Coordinator for IOM in Darfur. "At
best, we're looking at just 12 weeks in which to get people as far
as the river Kiir - the longest leg of the journey - so it's
important to be ready to move as soon as the opportunity
arises."

The resumption of jointly organised returns from South Darfur
this dry season has already been hampered by a number of factors
including an outbreak of meningitis in the return areas, however,
IOM Sudan has coordinated a vaccination campaign in order to enable
the assisted returns to continue.

This year, even larger numbers of IDPs are likely to be directly
assisted in organized return operations. With technical assistance
and financial support from IOM, the Government of National Unity
(GoNU) and the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) have registered
more than 35,000 returnees. At least 9,000 are expected to be
assisted home to Northern Bahr el Ghazal by the end of this year's
return season.

Voluntary returnees from South Sudan are mainly ethnic Dinka who
were among the first to be driven from their villages as a result
of the civil war in South Sudan that began in the mid 1980s. The
war, which lasted more than 20 years and only came to an end with
the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, has
left millions displaced in the country and drove hundreds of
thousands across the borders as refugees.

More stable conditions in the South are a major motivating
factor for people to return home with the uncertain political and
security situation in Darfur being another. Some of the IDPs from
the South say they have suffered secondary displacement within
Darfur.

Although the UN is not actively promoting return in Sudan,
substantial numbers of Southern Sudanese have spontaneously
undertaken the strenuous journey South despite very basic
infrastructure in some return areas. Starting this year, an
ambitious joint return operation plan agreed upon by the GoNU, the
GoSS, the UN and IOM is aimed at facilitating the sustainable
return of more than 100,000 IDPs in 2007.

IOM has been tasked with providing direct assistance to 83,000
voluntary returnees under the joint organized return programme in
terms of pre-departure medical screening and transportation. The
distribution of non-food items supplied by the United Nations Joint
Logistics Centre (UNJLC) and the establishment of transit
facilities such as departure centres and way stations are also
undertaken by IOM.

For further information, please contact:

Birgit Hussfeld

IOM-Sudan, Khartoum office

Tel: +249 / 183 570 801 / 2 / 3 / 4 ext. 153

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

Simona Opitz

IOM-Sudan, Khartoum office

Tel: +249 / 183 570 801 / 2 / 3 / 4 ext. 153

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

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