Al-Bashir vows support to voluntary return projects in West Darfur
October 8, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir on Monday discussed the voluntary return programmes in West Darfur State vowing to support development projects in the state.
Following his meeting with al-Bashir Monday, governor of West Darfur Hussein Yassen Hamad said his state is witnessing significant security stability which has positively impacted on the voluntary return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees.
Hamad pointed out that he briefed al-Bashir on the services and development projects being implemented in West Darfur, saying the former has promised to support all these projects.
Last June, Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Ahmed Mohamed Adam stated that the government has no plan to forcibly evicting the IDPs camps, but has set a number of options for IDPs, including resettlement in the area where they are, or in another area according to their desire.
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, IDPs representatives in several camps say they refuse to return to their areas before the disarmament of the armed militias and the evacuation of their land from the newcomers.
In a report released on 5 February, UNOCHA estimates there are about 386,000 returnees in Sudan conflict areas including Darfur and the Two Areas.
The Sudanese army has been fighting a group of armed movements in Darfur since 2003. UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in the conflict, and over 2.5 million were displaced.
(ST)