Central Darfur begins to plan voluntary return villages: minister
April 6, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The government of Central Darfur State has embarked on planning the villages of the voluntary return, said the state’s Minister of Urban Planning Muddather Adam
He told the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) that every village would be fully planned, saying the government has earmarked 2 billion Sudanese pounds to meet the needs of the voluntary return villages.
According to Adam, a higher committee chaired by the Central Darfur government has been set up to oversee the planning of the villages.
The minister further said his government is striving to allocate more funds to support the return of the IDP’s and refugees, calling on the concerned bodies to provide additional support for his government’s plans in this regard.
For several years, the government sought to dismantle Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps that have been established in areas around the capitals of Darfur’s five states after the eruption of the armed conflict in the region.
Since the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur in July 2011, the government constructed several villages and vowed to support IDPs who return to their home areas.
However, the return of displaced persons and refugees remains the main challenge for the Sudanese government. There are 2.7 million people living in protracted displacement camps since 2003 despite the relative improvement of the security situation.
In a recent report released on 5 February, UNOCHA estimates that are about 386,000 returnees in Sudan conflict areas including Darfur and the Two Areas.
(ST)