Over 1,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned home to Maban County in Upper Nile State by mid-March, 2010.
"There were 345 households which comprised of 1,114 individuals and they were IDPs in Blue Nile State," said UNMIS Return, Recovery and Reintegration Officer Tito Awando.
The IDPs left Upper Nile State following the 1993 civil war in Sudan. The Security situation in Maban has improved since then.
"There have been no reports of any major incidents in the last one year," said Alex Bala Thoko, Maban County Secretary for the Southern Sudan Return and Reintegration Committee.
The return was conducted in two phases. The first phase comprised a convoy of 465 people, which reached Maban on 9 March while the second and final convoy of 684 people arrived on 16 March.
Returnees were received by the Maban County Authority and UNMIS, Awando said.
Upon arrival, each individual received food rations for three months from the World Food Programme and non-food items including cooking pots, eating utensils, blankets, soap, sleeping mats and mosquito nets from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Medair.
A total of 55.6 metric tonnes of assorted food commodities were distributed.
"We distributed over 46 metric tonnes of cereals, more than five metric tonnes of pulse (edible seeds including peas and beans), about three metric tonnes of vegetable oil and one metric tonne of salt," noted Mr. Awando, adding that UNHCR also provided farming tools for the returnees.
The return was facilitated by the International Organization for Migration and funded by the United States Agency for International Development.
