South Sudan’s president appeals to 2.3 mil. refugees to return home

South Sudan’s president has appealed to the more than 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees who fled to neighboring countries to start returning home, pledging that his government will provide them with the necessary security.

President Salva Kiir said Wednesday repatriating those citizens who live as refugees in nearby countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Egypt, was at the top of the government’s priority list. “For those who will opt to return to their habitual areas of residence, the government will provide security and will work jointly with partners to organize logistics around what is needed to resettle successfully in those areas,” Kiir said. During a meeting with representatives of South Sudan’s large population of internally displaced people (IDP), Kiir also said the country also intended to resettle the IDPs, though not necessarily in the areas from which they came.

Kiir pledged the government would provide the IDPs with security, even though he acknowledged that it would take a lot to persuade them to leave their current protected areas. Many South Sudanese IDPs were displaced by the 2013 civil war that broke out when Kiir’s forces clashed with those of opposition leader Riek Machar. James Kok, a member of the national parliament, echoed the president’s message of declaring 2023 as a year of reconciliation, forgiveness and development. South Sudan has not seen an extended period of peace since winning independence from Sudan in 2011.