• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%
  • Also available in French

South Sudan: Repatriation from Central African Republic complete

Briefing Notes, 13 April 2007

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 13 April 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The last official repatriation flight from the Central African Republic (CAR) to Nzara in South Sudan took place on Wednesday (11 April), bringing home a group of 31 refugees. Since the voluntary repatriation operation started in February 2006, some 8,400 South Sudanese refugees have returned home on flights organised by UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Another 1,319 returned on their own and received crucial assistance to help them restart their lives, bringing the total of returns facilitated by UNHCR to almost 9,700.

The Central African Republic is the first of six countries neighbouring South Sudan to conclude voluntary repatriation of refugees who had fled a civil war that lasted more than 20 years. The conclusion of the CAR return operation came a day after we announced that the total number of South Sudanese refugees whose repatriation was facilitated by UNHCR had crossed the 50,000 mark since the December 2005. The returns have come from Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, CAR, Uganda, Ethiopia, Egypt and Libya.

The last group of returnees from CAR to South Sudan were welcomed in Nzara in Western Equatoria State local officials and a cheering crowd entertained by traditional singing and dancing.

UNHCR launched the organised voluntary repatriation in February 2006, only a day after the governments of Sudan and the Central African Republic had signed an agreement with us providing the legal framework for the repatriation. Between April and December 2006, however, flights had to be suspended due to the official closure of the border between the two countries. During this time, some 1,300 refugees returned on their own but received an aid package from humanitarian agencies containing a three-month food ration, seeds, agricultural tools and basic household items.

Most of the Sudanese refugees in the Central African Republic had settled around the village of Mboki in the remote south-east of the country. The refugee camp itself in Mboki was officially established in 1990 and UNHCR and the National Refugee Commission provided protection and assistance. However, refugees living in Bangui, Kaga-Bandoro, Bangassou and other places in CAR also benefited from the repatriation operation as they were flown back to Tambura, Juba, Rumbek, Wau, Nzara, Yambio and other locations in South Sudan.

The Central African Republic hosted up to 36,000 Sudanese refugees at the peak of the influx in the early 1990s. Many of them had returned before the repatriation operation began. Less than 2,000 Sudanese refugees remain in the country. Some of them will likely opt to stay permanently because they have established local bonds or businesses.

• DONATE NOW • • GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

 

Related stories by:

UNHCR country pages

Crisis in the Central African Republic

Little has been reported about the humanitarian crisis in the northern part of the Central African Republic (CAR), where at least 295,000 people have been forced out of their homes since mid-2005. An estimated 197,000 are internally displaced, while 98,000 have fled to Chad, Cameroon or Sudan. They are the victims of fighting between rebel groups and government forces.

Many of the internally displaced live in the bush close to their villages. They build shelters from hay, grow vegetables and even start bush schools for their children. But access to clean water and health care remains a huge problem. Many children suffer from diarrhoea and malaria but their parents are too scared to take them to hospitals or clinics for treatment.

Cattle herders in northern CAR are menaced by the zaraguina, bandits who kidnap children for ransom. The villagers must sell off their livestock to pay.

Posted on 21 February 2008

Crisis in the Central African Republic

Battling the Elements in Chad

More than 180,000 Sudanese refugees have fled violence in Sudan's Darfur region, crossing the border to the remote desert of eastern Chad.

It is one of the most inhospitable environments UNHCR has ever had to work in. Vast distances, extremely poor road conditions, scorching daytime temperatures, sandstorms, the scarcity of vegetation and firewood, and severe shortages of drinkable water have been major challenges since the beginning of the operation. Now, heavy seasonal rains are falling, cutting off the few usable roads, flooding areas where refugees had set up makeshift shelters, and delaying the delivery of relief supplies.

Despite the enormous environmental challenges, UNHCR has so far managed to establish nine camps and relocate the vast majority of the refugees who are willing to move from the volatile border.

Battling the Elements in Chad

Southerners on the move before Sudanese vote

Ahead of South Sudan's landmark January 9, 2011 referendum on independence, tens of thousands of southern Sudanese in the North packed their belongings and made the long trek south. UNHCR set up way stations at key points along the route to provide food and shelter to the travellers during their arduous journey. Several reports of rapes and attacks on travellers reinforced the need for these reception centres, where women, children and people living with disabilities can spend the night. UNHCR has made contingency plans in the event of mass displacement after the vote, including the stockpiling of shelter and basic provisions for up to 50,000 people.

Southerners on the move before Sudanese vote

Sudan: A Perilous RoutePlay video

Sudan: A Perilous Route

Kassala camp in eastern Sudan provides shelter to thousands of refugees from Eritrea. Many of them pass through the hands of ruthless and dangerous smugglers.
South Sudan: My VisitPlay video

South Sudan: My Visit

Tens of thousands of people are fleeing violence again in South Sudan.
South Sudan: A Long Journey HomePlay video

South Sudan: A Long Journey Home

Since South Sudan gained independence last July, tens of thousands of people have made their way there from neighbouring. They come by boat and road with everything they can carry or push to a land that many have never visited.