Africa-Press – South-Sudan. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Unity State capital, Bentiu, have repudiated the call by Vice President Taban Deng to leave the protection of civilians site and return to their homes.
Deng made the call during a public rally in Rubkona Town earlier this month when he toured Unity State. The state and national governments have been urging IDPs to vacate the camp, but the latter argue that there is insecurity and inadequate space for them to shelter in Bentiu Town.
A camp resident, Gai Mathoat, said Vice President Deng’s call for them to return home was political, not genuine and did not consider the safety and wellbeing of the people.
“We are refusing the call by [Vice President] Taban because we have nowhere to go since our homes were destroyed by both SSPDF and SPLA-IO, the warring parties who contributed to our suffering today,” he charged. “I do not believe Taban’s call. How can he tell us to return to Bentiu Town while we do not see any positive changes in the state, and when partners to the peace agreement are in detention? This means there is insecurity, and we cannot go back to Bentiu Town due to security concerns.”
Another resident of the Bentiu IDP camp, Nyagai Wal Koang, said they were ready to return home this year but shelved their plans when they heard about the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar and escalating fighting in parts of the country.
“We turned down the call of Taban Deng during his visit to Unity State because there is no peace in the country,” she stated. “He just came and made his political calls while tensions are still high from where he came [Juba].”
For her part, Nyajime Jock firmly said she will not leave the relative safety of the camp for the uncertainty in the town because people who had left are returning to the camp.
“The people in the counties are now coming back to the camp when they heard the news of opposition leaders being arrested in Juba and see that insecurity is increasing,” she explained. “There are some armed men who steal phones and goats at night, and these are signs of insecurity.”
Meanwhile, the chairperson of the peace committee at the Bentiu IDP camp, Yananis Gatyang, VP Deng’s call will not be heeded because of floods, insecurity, and the recent aerial bombardment of a village in Mayom County by the SSPDF.
“It is fine for Vice President Taban to ask us to go back home because we are his people, but the big problem is the current floods across the state, and the second issue is insecurity,” he said. “It is true that we also have small problems like fighting, teenage pregnancies, disease, and others, but the good thing is we work together with our security forces in the camp to contain them.”
“The security forces protect us from criminals and we sit down as communities from Unity State and Greater Upper Nile, including Jonglei State, to resolve our problems under one administration that runs affairs within Bentiu IDP camp,” Gatyang added.
For his part, Dr. Riek Koang, a local civil society activist and the program coordinator of a local NGO, Street Children Care Initiative (SCCI), said the IDPs rejected the vice president’s call due to a lack of services.
“The current situation is that the residents of Bentiu IDP camp believe in humanitarian aid because the government does not give them access to services,” he explained. “So, since the beginning of the conflict, they forgot about the government due to a lack of services, and it is their right to reject the call.”
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