UN says 1.4 million refugees have returned to South Sudan in 5 years

Juba, July 20 More than 1.4 million South Sudanese refugees have returned home between the signing of a renewed peace deal in October 2018 and May 31, 2024, the UN refugee agency said.

According to a joint report released on Friday by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), as of May 31, 2.2 million refugees from South Sudan are in the region, including in Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

The report shows that Uganda hosts the largest number of refugees from South Sudan, at 939,538, followed by Sudan (668,847), Ethiopia (422,107), Kenya (181,963), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (53,621) and the Central African Republic (2,813).

According to the UNHCR, the most commonly cited reasons for returning from asylum countries included reunification with family members, improving the security situation in South Sudan and assessing land, property and housing, Xinhua news agency reported.

The refugees cited insecurity, lack of employment, livelihoods and economic activities, and a reduction in food rations in refugee camps as reasons for leaving their asylum countries.

The report found that 41,600 South Sudanese returned home in May, a slight increase from the previous month.

“The slight increase is due to insecurity in some asylum countries, notably Sudan, reductions in food rations and lack of employment and livelihood opportunities in some parts of the country, which affected the spontaneous return of refugees to South Sudan in the reporting month,” the report said.

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