South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The Northern Bahr el Ghazal State government On Sunday, began distributing food aid to more than 1,000 returnees from the Abyei Special Administrative Area.
State Governor Simon Ober Mawut oversaw the distribution, which included rice, beans, maize flour, cooking oil, and other essential items.
This followed the state government’s facilitation of transportation for 1,086 South Sudanese returnees stranded in the Abyei Administrative Area after fleeing the ongoing war in Sudan.
Dominic Kang Deng Kang, the state minister of housing, land, and public utilities, announced that the returnees received food aid upon their arrival in Northern Bahr El Ghazal state on Sunday.
“Now the distribution has started, and all the NGOs have contributed, especially the WFP, which has provided high-energy biscuits,” Deng told the media on Sunday in Aweil.
Deng stated that the food items were donated by the state government with support from the U.N. World Food Programme and various NGOs.
“It is now being distributed to the returnees, and even the governor and all well-wishers have contributed food items that are being distributed to all returnees coming from Sudan.”
Deng disclosed that the state governor is making efforts to repatriate stranded individuals and integrate them into local communities.
For his part, Lual Awach, chairperson of the State Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), mentioned that children, mothers, and the elderly will be taken to different counties for integration.
“We have received 1,086 returnees so far, many of whom include individuals from neighboring states like Gogrial East and Western Bahr el Ghazal,” said Awach.
He urged NGOs to assist the government in facilitating the integration of the returnees into the communities.
“I am asking NGOs and all other responsible agencies to help the returnees reach their destinations. We do not have a camp for refugees or returnees here; we only have individuals who will be taken to different places.”
