Red Cross reunites six Sudanese adolescents with their families

October 6, 2011 (KHARTOUM/N’DJAMENA) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) organised yesterday the return of six Sudanese adolescents from Chad to the Sudan where they rejoined their families.

The Red Cross said the adolescents were separated from their families since two years ago but did not elaborate on the circumstances of this separation or from which part of the country they originate.

However, due to the eight year conflict in Darfur, many Sudanese fled their villages to Chad where over 250 thousands refugees are there since 2003 when the government launched a violent counterinsurgency campaign there.

The six young men travelled on an ICRC aircraft Wednesday afternoon from Abéché to Al-Geneina, capital of west Darfur state, said the Red Cross in a statement released Thursday. Three have already rejoined their families. The others, accompanied by an ICRC delegate, are on their way to their families.

“When our colleagues in Chad discovered that these young people were separated from their families, we started trying to locate their relatives in Sudan with the help of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society,” said Angela Cotroneo, who coordinates the ICRC’s family reunification programme in Sudan.

“After establishing contact with the families and making sure that the youths would be returning of their own free will, we organised their homecoming with the agreement of the Chadian and Sudanese authorities concerned,” he added.

The Red Cross humanitarian mandate includes reunion of families separated by armed conflicts with agreement of the concerned parties.

(ST)