Sudan troops pullout from oil-rich Abyei raises hopes for return of IDPs

JUBA, Tuesday

A pullout of the last Sudan Armed Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army forces from the contested oil-rich area of Abyei may accelerate the return of displaced persons to the area, that has until now lagged on the fears of a recurrence of conflict.

“It’s a small step,” Simon Kun, the chairperson of Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission told the Nation Friday. “We hope people will move backer in larger numbers.”

The north Sudan troops, in May 2008, launched a deadly attack on the contested oil area, razing an entire town to the ground, and displacing the population.

The fighting was the worst since the peace agreement that ended a 21-year civil war, according to the Assessment and Evaluation Commission.

The troops withdrew on March 12, leaving the area under the Joint/Integrated troops.

“This shows how much the parties can do when they work together, as partners,” Ashraf Qazi, the Special Representative of UN Secretary General said in a statement. “This kind of cooperation can serve as a model as we tackle the remaining challenges ahead.”

But the pullout, officials say, is only one among several factors that would influence the return of the displaced persons to the area.

Despite support, and nearly a year on, a majority of Abyei’s displaced are still steering clear of the area.

The fighting displaced some 92,000 people from Abyei to Agok, according to the relief agency.

“When the Abyei incident happened, it was SSRRC that went in first,” Kun says. “We had an operation there and in Agok. We had to manage the crisis.”

The relief commission still has offices in Abyei to handle the returnees.

“We have now trying to move the displaced persons from Agok to Abyei,” Kun says.

The populations are moving, but not fast enough.

Only about 40,000 have moved back, according to the relief commission.