Returnees and refugees transit center in Aweil, Northern Bahr el Ghazal State. (Photo: NBGS governor's office)

The Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Northern Bahr el Ghazal has distributed Chinese-donated rice to 600 returnee households in Aweil North County.

The beneficiaries are civilians who fled the conflict in Sudan.

The returnees mainly women, children, and the elderly are camped at the Wed-Wil transit point in Aweil North County.

Dut Majokdit, the Chairperson of the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, said the rice was distributed to the returnees on Monday in Gok-Machar of Aweil North County.

“We are in Gok-Machar, the headquarters for Aweil North County and we came to visit returnees from Sudan during the current conflict,” Majokdit said.

“We are here to provide some food items, the rice we received from China and it a donation from China to the government of the Republic of South Sudan.”

“Most of them are breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women and elderly people, so we priorities them to be given this rice, and we are targeting 600 households.”

“I take this privilege to urge humanitarian organizations that are operating in this country and also in particularly in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State to support our people in terms of shelter, washing, sanitation, health and food and also the other necessity to sustain their life.”

On his part, the head of the returnees James Wol Chol urged the well-wishers to continue supporting the returnees in the area.

“Concerning our return back home, we don’t have anything, and even if we didn’t cultivate, the small one we did here, there are no rains for the last 27 days, even the sorghum that we planted got burnt, there’s nothing till now,” he said on behalf of the returnees.

“We are suffering, there are no hospitals, even we cannot get food, we trying to work and there’s no work there. Thanks to RRC for this help today, we thank God for that, and we are still suffering, because what they have assisted us with cannot be enough.”

In May 2023, the state government, traders, and well-wishers in Northern Bahr el Ghazal also donated food and non-food items to returnees and refugees who fled the conflict in Sudan.

More than 50,000 South Sudanese returnees are reported to have arrived in Norther Bahr el Ghazal State from Sudan.