South Sudan Displacement Crisis: Nyal Port Monitoring - Panyijiar County, Unity State, South Sudan (December 2020)
Format
CONTEXT AND METHODOLOGY
Nyal town is located in Northern Panyijiar County, Unity State, along the banks of the Sudd, one of the largest swamps in the world. Nyal is a key location for people travelling to and from Central and Southern Unity and nearby islands. Since the start of the crisis, internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Unity and Jonglei States have often sought temporary security in Nyal, perceiving Nyal as a safe location with ample resources.
Since 1 November 2016, REACH has monitored the ports of Gap, Nyal and Katieth in Nyal town on a daily basis to determine the demographics, key push and pull factors, transportation routes and vulnerabilities of the newly arrived and departing population, and provide evidence for more effective humanitarian planning.
As a fragile peace takes hold, some South Sudanese refugees head home
Format
By Aoife McDonnell and Linda Muriuki in Bentiu, South Sudan | 29 January 2021
When Mary Nyekuola first returned to South Sudan after fleeing conflict four years ago, she wept. The land she left behind had been occupied and her husband had died while a refugee in Khartoum after a long illness. She had to start from scratch, but still, it felt good to be back.
“I had mixed feelings. It was painful but at the same time I was happy to be home,” she said as she spread a mat on the ground outside her sister’s house in Bentiu, a small town in Unity State near the border with Sudan.
Bandits kill SSPDF soldier in Warrap State
Authorities in Ajak Kuac of Warrap State said a soldier belonging to the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSPDF) was shot and killed by unknown gunmen last Saturday in the Bumbi locality at the border of Warrap and Unity states.
The soldier identified as Mayar Ungop from the SSPDF’s Division 4 was reportedly shot dead while he was collecting poles to construct his hut at the nearby army camp.
Maker Marrik, the Executive Director of the defunct Ajak Kuac County, said, yesterday there was an accident that happened along Bumbi Road, one of our soldiers who had strolled to the forest was killed and also a truck driver, a Somali national, was attacked.”
Returning refugee numbers dwindle as they decry mistreatment at borders
More than 4,000 refugee returnees have returned to South Sudan between December and now from neighboring countries, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and South Sudan s Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC).
The UN Refugee Agency, in a statement yesterday said, 4,036 South Sudanese refugee returnees were verified to have entered South Sudan in December and early this year, a marked reduction of spontaneous or voluntary returnees from 7,981 reported in November 2020.
“The majority (61%) of the spontaneous refugee returnees were from Sudan while 23% returned from Ethiopia. Returnees from DRC, Uganda, and Kenya represent 15%. Most returns were to Unity State (61%), Upper Nile (16%), and Jonglei (11%). The highest movement from October-December (2020) was reported at border points with Sudan and Ethiopia. However, the Nimule border point with Uganda is still among the