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Sudan Tribune

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IOM resumes return operation of Dinka Bor to Jonglei State

Jan 23, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — A leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration will resume assistance operation to some 10,000 Dinka Bor to return to their home in Jonglei state, UN news bulletin reported.

An IOM operation to provide return assistance to some 10,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from South Sudan’s provinces of Eastern, Central and Western Equatoria is due to resume this week when a first group of some 350 IDPs will board an IOM chartered ferry that will take them on an 18-hour long journey up the White Nile from Juba to Bor, in Jonglei State.

The operation, which last year helped some 3,000 vulnerable IDPs return to their homeland in Bor County, was suspended in June because of the onslaught of the rainy season.

“Travel by river remains one of the most viable means of transit within Sudan,” says IOM’s Louis Hoffmann. “With the return of the dry season, IOM and its partners will do their utmost to help all those who wish to return home and provide them with enough reintegration assistance to make their return sustainable.”

Prior to their departure, the group will be medically screened by IOM staff at the Lologo way station near Juba. IOM will also provide medical assistance and monitoring throughout the journey.

To assist reintegration efforts, the IOM chartered barge will also transport Non Food Items provided by UNICEF between Juba and Bor. In cooperation with the World Food Programme, IOM will be providing transit rations on board the barge.

Upon arrival in Bor, the returnees will be temporally housed at an UNHCR way station. WFP will ensure the provision of a food allowance to all returning families. Non Food Items to assist with the reintegration include plastic sheeting, jerry cans, mosquito nets, blankets, sleeping mats and a cooking set.

The resumption of the Juba-Bor return operation, which is carried out in coordination with the UN and government of South Sudan, will be witnessed by group of representatives from main donor countries, who will also visit IOM operations in Khartoum and Darfur.

This movement is the first planned assistance to some 200,000 IDPs expected to return home this year.

IOM is currently seeking USD 24.2 million to ensure the safe, dignified and sustainable return of displaced populations to and within Southern Sudan. This is part of a broader IOM appeal for USD 61 million for operations in Sudan in 2007.

The Dinka Bor were subjected to massacres in 1991 by the forces of the current southern Sudan government Vice-President after breakaway from the SPLM mainstream led by the late John Garang.

The return of the herders Dinka to their home will ease the tension with farmers tribes of the different Equatoria States.

(ST)

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