Over 140 IDPs reach Bor from Bentiu
January 30, 2016 (BOR) – Over 140 individuals, with high vulnerabilities due to crisis inflicted food insecurity, had arrived in Bor, Jonglei state’s capital, in a barge from Bentiu town of Unity state in northern part of the country.
According to the RRC boss, these individuals would be reunited with the relatives in the South Sudanese capital of Juba, after two years of horrible lives in isolations since the war which separated them apart broke out in December 2013.
“Today we received 141 IDPs from Bentiu in which 90 percent of the population are children,” Jok told Sudan Tribune on phone from Bor.
Out of those children, 37 were unaccompanied orphans, whose parents had probably perished during the war. Others who had no relatives in Juba will go to neighbouring countries of Uganda and Kenya as refugees.
“We have investigated where they are heading to and they have told me that they are going to Juba and some of them will proceed to Uganda and Kenya to join some of the relatives who are residing in those locations.”
A child in the barge who reached Bor in critical condition, was found to be in anaemic, and was quickly rescued with blood donated by the some youth in Bor.
“One child was really very sick and we took the child to Bor hospital and the child required blood donation in which some youth managed to donate to [the] child. That child is going to remain in Bor, we will take care of the child and when the child recovers we will find a way of sending him with the mother to Juba to join the rest of the group,” continued Jok.
The identities of the people in barge, about their tribes were not communicated; some people who witnessed them said majority of them were from Nuer in and around Bentiu, the mostly affected single community in South Sudan by the war which started with the massacre of thousands of their civilians in the capital, Juba.
This was the first barge carrying IDPS that arrived to Bor since the war started on 15 December 2013.
(ST)