Juba, South Sudan – President Salva Kiir met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi on Monday to discuss the high influx of returnees and refugees from Sudan and the repatriation process of South Sudanese refugees back to the country.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Deng Dau Deng said the President reaffirmed the government’s support towards the returnees and refugees fleeing the Sudanese conflict.
“The President reiterated his commitment and that of IGAD and Sudan’s neighbors to ensure that durable peace is restored, calling for permanent ceasefire between the warring factions,” Deng said.
Grandi, for his part, decried the influx of refugees and returnees into South Sudan. He urged the government to work closely with the UN to help repatriate South Sudanese refugees living in neighboring countries.
“I have been coming to South Sudan to discuss something quite different: how can we solve issues of forced displacement of refugees that are affecting this region,” Grandi said. “There are over 2 million South Sudanese refugees still abroad; many have come back, and others are still abroad.”
Approximately, 230,000 people have returned to South Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan.
