The Government of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State has successfully transported 1,086 South Sudanese nationals who were stranded in the Abyei Administrative Area after fleeing the brutal conflict in Sudan. The operation comes amid growing concerns for thousands still displaced by the war between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The conflict, which erupted on April 15, 2023, has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands and the displacement of millions across Sudan. Many South Sudanese who had either remained in Sudan following their country’s independence in 2011 or had fled there during South Sudan’s own internal wars of 2013 and 2016, have been caught in the crossfire of the Sudanese fighting.
The returnees—comprising men, women, and elderly individuals—had initially taken refuge in Abyei after escaping violence in hotspots such as Khartoum, Al Gazirah, and West Kordofan. They endured months of hardship in Abyei without basic necessities such as shelter, clean water, food, or medicine.
On Sunday, Lual Awach, Chairperson of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, confirmed their arrival. “A total of 1,086 returnees arrived on Saturday from the Abyei Administrative Area. The state government facilitated their transportation by hiring 13 trucks,” he told Daily Nile.
Among the returnees was Awein Deng Anguei, who fled from Khartoum’s Sherq Al Nile neighborhood. “We started our journey on April 16 and passed through several towns in Khartoum, including Jabra, Mayo, Omdurman, Suk Al Gash, and Suk Libya, before reaching Abyei. We are thankful to be safely received here in Aweil,” she said.
Another returnee, Yak Yal, expressed concern for those left behind. “We are grateful to have reached home safely, but we remain deeply worried about the others who are still stranded in Abyei without support,” he said.
