Africa-Press – South-Sudan. At least 7,000 refugees have returned to their homes in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State.
The refugees started trooping back in December 2022, authorities have said.
A high-level team of South Sudanese ambassadors visited the area on Wednesday, where state authorities said there had been an increase in the return of refugees.
The visit to Torit and Magwi counties was part of the UNHCR’s mission to restore hope. They also launched a programme to assist returnees and the local population in Magwi.
Speaking during the event, Augustine Okuma, the head of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Eastern Equatoria State, said an estimated 7,000 refugees had returned to Magwi within the month of December alone.
According to him, the government and its partners, such as the UNHCR and ACTED, have sent enumerators to the South Sudanese border regions to note down the returnees at all border crossing points.
“We have people who are coming. “They are in big numbers, and we expect that this year the number may triple even that of last year,” he stated.
Most of the returnees are coming from refugee camps in Kenya and Uganda. Some return as a family, while others travel in a small groups.
Magwi County has the highest number of people returning home, followed by Torit, Ikotos, Lafon County, Budi, and Kapoeta.
However, the head of RRC expressed worries over the competition for services such as schools, healthcare, and drinking water.
Okuma appealed to the government and humanitarian organizations to collaborate to enhance service delivery to the local population.
The RRC chairman said the large-scale return of refugees was encouraging because it would enable the people to rebuild their livelihoods as well as prepare to participate in the national elections in 2024.
UNHCR data indicates that South Sudan is showing signs of hope amid flooding, inter-communal conflict, and economic turmoil.
Since the signing of the Revitalized Peace Agreement (R-ARCSS) in 2018, which ended the war in the country, more than 627,000 refugees have returned home.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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