Sudan plans to establish 30 villages for W. Darfur displaced

Nov 20, 2006 (EL-GENEINA) — The State of West Darfur has drawn plans to construct thirty villages, provided with all basic services therein that to house displaced persons and refugees at the level of the state, each village costing about one billion Sudanese pounds, Finance and Economy Minister in the state Mohamed Hashim said.

He said the villages would take into account the new demographic changes that occurred as a result of the unrest in the region, explaining that the villages would be linked to the main roads all in close consultation with the villagers themselves and that the citizens in those villages would be part of the overall activities in the state.

The minister said this move would not, in any way, mean villagers could not be able to return back to their original home villages. He said it would be in their full right to return to their home areas or possess new plot of land in the new model villages, the state-run SUNA reported.

He said it would be the responsibility of the government to provide all the basic services in a way that would take into consideration the economic, security and political map, stressing that those villages would be open to all people.

(ST)