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Internally Displaced Persons – 2010

Most of the focus on issues related to IDPs shifted upon the return of southerners who went to the north to escape the conflict. The government of Southern Sudan, in collaboration with the Repatriation Taskforce formed by South Sudan Referendum Commission, started repatriating Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Khartoum to South Sudan by air, beginning in November 2010.21¹ As a matter of fact, Abyei received the first group of 1,200 IDPs returning from north.² Over 28,000 IDPs had returned from northern to southern Sudan by December 15, 2010.³ According to U.N. Secretary General’s report, the Government of Southern Sudan had estimated as many as 150,000 people would have returned from northern Sudan by the end of March 2011, just before the referendum.⁴

1. “Southern Sudan Begins Repatriation of IDPs from North Ahead of Referendum,” BBC Monitoring Middle East, November 26, 2010.
2. “Sudan; Abyei Receives First Batch of IDPs Returning From North Sudan,” Sudan Africa News, November 22, 2010.
3. “Over 28,000 IDPs Return from North to Southern Sudan Ahead of Referendum,” BBC Monitoring Middle East, December 16, 2010.
4. “Report of the Secretary-General on the Sudan,” United Nations (S/2010/681), December 31, 2010.