152,000 displaced persons return to N. Darfur: Governor

By Adel Abdul-Rahim

KHARTOUM

Some 152,000 displaced persons have returned to their villages in Sudan’s western North Darfur State, the country’s SUNA news agency reported Thursday.

“In coordination with local and foreign organizations, North Darfur’s local government is providing assistance to returning displaced persons,” State Governor Mohamed Abad Samouh was quoted by SUNA as saying.

The total number of displaced persons in North Darfur currently stands at around 327,000, he added.

He went on to stress that the voluntary repatriation, resettlement and reintegration of displaced persons was “among the greatest challenges” now facing North Darfur State.

Since 2003, Darfur has been the scene of sporadic fighting between the Khartoum government and three separate rebel movements.

According to UN figures, the conflict has left as many as 300,000 people dead and an estimated 2.5 million others displaced.

The Sudanese government, for its part, rejects these figures, saying the death toll does not exceed 10,000.