South Sudanese President Salva Kiir made an appeal to more than two million South Sudanese refugees living in neighboring countries to return home in his first meeting with displaced people after almost a decade of civil war, reported Africa News. The five-year civil war that erupted in late 2013 killed hundreds of thousands of people and ended with a peace agreement in 2018.
Speaking Wednesday to representatives of South Sudan’s large population of internally displaced people in Juba, President Kiir ensured that his government will provide necessary security to the returning refugees.
Notably, more than 2.3 million South Sudanese are currently living as refugees in neighboring countries such as Egypt, Kenya, and Uganda.
The president said it is his government’s top priority to bring back the refugees. He promised that the government will provide security to those who will opt to return to their habitual areas of residence. He said the government will work jointly with partner countries to organize the logistics needed to resettle successfully in those areas.
He said the country also intended to resettle the IDPs, though not necessarily in the areas from which they came.
President Kiir said for those who cannot return to their home communities, the government has talked with authorities in the states where IDP camps are located, to set aside land and to resettle them. He said the designated land will be allocated to IDPs and IDPs only.
The South Sudanese president also appealed to international partners to support the government in reintegrating returnees.
President Kiir’s appeal came as the country gets ready to hold its first elections since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011. The delayed elections are scheduled to be held in December 2024.
The President’s appeal came two weeks after Pope Francis met with displaced South Sudanese in the capital, Juba, and appealed for lasting peace.
