Returnees' livelihoods limited in Southern Sudan

NAIROBI, 28 May 2009 (IRIN) - An estimated 2.24 million displaced people have returned home to Southern Sudan since 2005, but they still experience limited access to livelihood opportunities and basic services, among other obstacles, according to a new report.

Overall, about 4.9 million people remain displaced in Sudan, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) stated in a report, Sudan: 4.9 million IDPs across Sudan face ongoing turmoil.

The returnees in the south were among about four million IDPs and half a million refugees forced out of their homes by the war between north and south. That conflict ended in 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

"An estimated 10 percent of all return movements thus far have been unsuccessful," the 27 May report noted. "Inter-communal violence has also caused significant new displacement in Southern Sudan, with 187,000 people newly displaced in 2008."

Tensions, it noted, had also have remained high in the "Three Areas" on the border between the north and south. Renewed conflict in Abyei in 2008 displaced 50,000-60,000 people, while more than 200,000 remain displaced in Blue Nile State, and more than 100,000 in Southern Kordofan.

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=84586