Voluntary repatriation of Southern Sudanese refugees from Uganda is set to increase with the introduction of a third corridor of return to Eastern Equatoria state in August, the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, said on Wednesday.
Officials from Uganda, South Sudan and the UNHCR met in Kampala and agreed that the pace of return should be expedited, despite the logistical challenges.
UNHCR’s spokeswoman in Kampala, Robertta Russo, told IRIN that the agency expected more people to volunteer to return home to southern Sudan. Seventy percent of the refugees in Uganda are from Eastern Equatoria.
Hundreds of thousands of people sought safety in neighbouring countries after the civil war between former rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLAM/A) and the Khartoum-based government broke out in 1983.
The war formally ended in 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government and the SPLM/A, which now runs a semi-autonomous administration in South Sudan.
Kilde: www.irinnews.org
