Over 31,000 Sudanese, Somali refugees repatriated from Uganda-Sources

Sources close to Uganda government say that the government has repatriated at least 31,819 Sudanese and Somalis who have been living in Uganda as refugees.

Sources close to Uganda government say that the government has repatriated at least 31,819 Sudanese and Somalis who have been living in Uganda as refugees.

Details in the 2008/09 ministerial statement to parliament from the Office of the Prime Minister show that the repatriated lot was part of the 170,000 Sudanese refugees living in the country.

"We coordinated voluntary repatriation of 31,819 out of 170,000 Sudanese refugees and received and settled over 5,000 new arrivals from mainly, Somalia and Kenya," the Prime Minister, Apolo Nsibambi's statement reads in part.

Although Mr. Nsibambi says the repatriation was voluntary, there are reports that a section of Sudanese refugees living in Arua District were resisting repatriation by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, citing fragile security in South Sudan.

Recently, refugees expressed worry that the Lord's Resistance Army rebels, still holed up in Ngaramba parkland in northeastern DRCongo, which is within striking distance of parts of South Sudan, could resume their brutality and attack them upon return.

However, sources close to the prime minister's office told Mareeg online on Friday that although many Sudanese refugees have expressed interest to return home, the collapsed infrastructure, lack of schools, hospitals and roads during the 22-year liberation war between the SPLA/M and Khartoum government remains a major concern.

"Not all Sudanese refugees are unwilling to go back voluntarily as well Somalis," an officer who opted to speak on condition of anonymity for personal reasons said. "In fact on the contrary, we have not forced anybody to go back," a source said.

"They go back willingly and with the current relative peace in their country, their number is reducing as we continue to undertake their repatriation in conjunction with the UNHCR authorities working in the country."

But according to the Arua Municipality MP Mr Akbar Godi (FDC), Sudanese and Somali refugees have lived in Uganda for over 20 years and that any repatriation process should be coordinated between the two countries.

"We welcome this repatriation, but it should be handled carefully such that we don't get a problem. As we repatriate Somali refugees who are willing to go back, the security situation in the country should also be at the back of our mind because our people need peace and not war," Mr Godi said.

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