By Hou Akot Hou
Northern Bahr El Ghazal State deputy governor revealed that plans are underway to evacuate more refugees from Upper Nile to Aweil.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Commission for Refugee Affairs, headed by Bol John Akot, landed in Aweil on Tuesday and met state officials.
Deputy Governor for NBGs, Tong Chol Ayat said they held a closed-door meeting with the UN and the Commission for Refugee Affairs on need to assess the situation of the refugees in Wadwill camp.
Their first mission was to see whether there was land available to enable them to evacuate the Sudanese refugees living in other parts of the country.
“They said that they want to come and assess the refugees in Wadwill, and their aim is to evaluate refugees in Jam-Jam, Yida in Upper Nile, Maban and Juba, among others,” he stated.
Chol acknowledged that they want to have the refugees brought to Aweil, especially Wadwil, because of its stability in the state.
“We have accepted to give plots, and as a government, we remain resolute to bring on board the fleeing population,” the deputy governor said.
According to Chol, UNHCR wants a plot of 1,500 hectares, but the state authorities agreed to the idea of demarcating plots for refugees to be spacious for their children to recreate and do other things.
He assured the UNHCR that the state is ready to accommodate the refugees, and it remains the organization’s plan to devise ways of bringing them into the state.
Deputy Governor Chol calls on the people of Aweil to embrace the idea of welcoming the refugees as their population is on the rise, stating that the resettlement area has been given by the partners.