Sudan to repatriate 150,000 refugees from Chad: official
October 31, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Refugee Commission said Chad is currently hosting over 300,000 Sudanese refugees pointing out that 50% of them have expressed their desire to return to the country voluntarily.
On Tuesday, the State Minister of Interior Musa Madibu visited the Refugee Commission to learn about the efforts it exerts on various issues including voluntary return, human trafficking and mixed migration.
He has also been briefed about the challenges facing the refugee body as well as the commission’s relationship with its regional and international counterparts.
For his part, the refugee commissioner Hamad al-Gizouli said they dispatched a team to the refugee camps in Chad to register those wishing to return to the country voluntarily.
He pointed out that the repatriation of the refugees from Chad would begin on the first week of November, stressing 50% of the 300,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad have expressed a desire to return to the country.
It is noteworthy that the Sudanese refugees are residing in the eastern region of the neighbouring country not far from the border with Chad.
On 31 May 2017, Sudan, Chad and the UNHCR signed two separate tripartite agreements on the voluntary return of Sudanese refugees from Chad and Chadian refugees from Sudan.
Also, the three parties in January 2018 signed an operational plan for the repatriation of 20,000 Sudanese refugees from Chad to Darfur region during this year.
UN reports say the security situation in Darfur has largely improved but stress that the lack of infrastructures and services prevent the return of refugees and displaced persons to their areas of origin.
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)