Nyala, September 18 (Darfur24)
Authorities in Nyala, South Darfur, have begun arranging the voluntary return of displaced people from El Fasher who are staying in shelters, amid concerns among some displaced families about the security situation in the capital of North Darfur.
An official from the Ministry of Social Affairs of the state’s civil administration said the arrangements include field visits to shelters and distributing forms to register families wishing to return voluntarily.
The official said the returns would be carried out without coercion and in coordination with relevant authorities and shelter supervisors.
He said the security situation in El Fasher has stabilized, adding that health and education facilities and water stations damaged during the war have resumed operations.
However, some displaced people in Nyala shelters expressed concerns about returning, citing what they described as continuing security incidents in El Fasher, including the recent killing of a local administration official under unclear circumstances and arrests of some returnees.
Some displaced people said several families had left Nyala shelters for Tawila in recent months. Residents of villages around El Fasher, along with some returnees, had also reportedly fled to Tawila, which is controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdul Wahid Mohamed Nour.
Nyala received thousands of people displaced by fighting in Darfur, Kordofan and Khartoum during the war, with some housed in temporary shelters.
As some services have resumed in Nyala, authorities have begun vacating several shelters, particularly schools, to allow them to return to educational use.