VZCZCXRO5374
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0540/01 0981456
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071456Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0496
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KHARTOUM 000540 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AFR/SP 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR PMARCHAM, MMAGAN, AND BPITTMAN 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
USUN FOR FSHANKS 
BRUSSELS FOR PBROWN 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI UN SU
SUBJECT:  ABYEI:  GOSS-SPONSORED RETURNS UPDATE 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 481 
 
KHARTOUM 00000540  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. On April 2, USAID staff visited a reception center in Abyei town 
that had received approximately 3,000 Government of Southern Sudan 
(GOSS)-sponsored returnees from Khartoum.  According to UN Mission 
in Sudan Return, Reintegration, and Recovery (UNMIS RRR) staff, the 
returnees arrived with household assets, in good health, and 
reported being happy to be home.  As reported REFTEL, the GOSS has 
organized an operation to return internally displaced persons (IDPs) 
to areas of origin in Southern Sudan and the Three Areas prior to 
the April 15 census.  Due to insecurity along the road from Dilling 
to Abyei, UNMIS provided force protection to the 74-truck convoy and 
ensured the returnees' safe arrival in Abyei.  With the GOSS return 
operation in full swing, UNMIS needs to be prepared to provide force 
protection for other convoys traveling through Southern Kordofan to 
Abyei or Southern Sudan.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------------- 
ABYEI RETURNEES ARRIVE SAFELY 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  According to UNMIS RRR and a Southern Sudan Relief and 
Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) official, a 74-truck convoy 
carrying as many as 3,000 people and their household belongings from 
Khartoum arrived in Abyei on April 1.  The returnee convoy required 
force protection from UNMIS due to the numerous roadblocks, armed 
groups, and banditry along the final stretch of road from Dilling to 
Abyei.  According to UN officials in Abyei, mobilizing the UNMIS 
force protection took several days, prolonging the group's journey. 
(Note: The Government of National Unity, UN, and GOSS' joint 
organized returns program does not send returnees to Abyei due to 
insecurity and lack of local administration to facilitate 
reintegration and recovery activities. End Note.) 
 
¶3.  In preparation for the returnees, SSRRC designated a reception 
center in Abyei town that includes a health screening area, water 
bladder, and returnee registration site.  On April 2, USAID staff 
visited the center and saw approximately ten empty trucks parked 
outside of the reception area and one truck full of returnees' 
household belongings.  Most families had unloaded their belongings 
and were gathered around piles of beds, chairs, and other luggage 
items. 
 
¶4.  USAID partner GOAL provided medical screening for returnees at 
the reception center and reported that most returnees had arrived in 
good health.  Returnees reported one baby delivery during the 
journey from Khartoum.  UNMIS RRR provided a water bladder at the 
site.  An UNMIS RRR officer interviewed returnees and reported that 
most seemed to be in good spirits and happy to be home.  The UNMIS 
RRR officer noted that providing assistance to the GOSS-organized 
returnees is difficult because the GOSS has not notified the UN of 
departure dates, routes, or destinations, but that the process has 
been relatively smooth so far.  The UNMIS RRR officer reported that 
the Abyei SSRRC has good capacity and has organized the returnees' 
reception quickly and effectively.  According to the Sudan People's 
Liberation Movement (SPLM) representatives in Abyei, the next 
GOSS-sponsored return convoy is scheduled for April 12. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
OTHER COMPLICATED DISPLACEMENT DYNAMICS IN ABYEI 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5.  In addition to returnees from Khartoum, Abyei also has received 
returnees from Dibaab and Diffra areas, located north of Abyei, 
which UNMIS RRR characterized as extremely vulnerable.  Insecurity 
and restricted access north of Abyei town prevents UN agencies, the 
SSRRC, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from thoroughly 
assessing the humanitarian situation of IDPs in the area and 
returnee populations.  In recent weeks, an UNMIS RRR team identified 
a group of returnees in the Dibaab/Diffra area and reported high 
levels of malnutrition among the children.  In response, Medecins 
Sans Frontieres (MSF) dispatched a medical team to assist the 
malnourished children and provide therapeutic feeding. 
 
¶6.  UN agencies in Abyei lack a clear understanding of the status of 
the IDPs in Dibaab and Diffra, but believe many are Dinka who were 
displaced from Northern Bahr el Ghazal in the 1990s and remained in 
 
KHARTOUM 00000540  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
the area after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed to 
sharecrop in Misseriya areas.  Increased tension between Dinka and 
Misseriya in the Muglad Area likely has prompted the Dinka IDPs to 
start moving southward to Abyei town. 
 
¶7. UN officials also reported an unknown number of IDPs arriving in 
Abyei town following the fighting along the border between Southern 
Kordofan and Southern Sudan in recent months. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
REINTEGRATION AND RETURN TO RURAL VILLAGES 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  As a policy, the UN agencies and the NGOs in Abyei do not 
provide assistance to returnees until they reach their final return 
destination.  Abyei town is considered a transit point for 
returnees, but in fact many returnees opt to remain in Abyei because 
of the available services or because of insecurity in their home 
areas.  The little town is bursting at the seams.  Returnees who 
choose to remain in Abyei will need to be targeted with 
income-generation activities and vocational training opportunities 
to expand their livelihood options. 
 
¶9.  The SSRRC is responsible for registering returnees in their 
final return destinations and utilizes boma reception committees to 
conduct the registration.  UNMIS RRR verifies reports and numbers 
from the SSRRC boma reception committees and then the UN provides 
food aid, relief commodities, and seeds and tools to the returnee 
communities based on the verified figures. 
 
¶10.  UN officials reported to USAID that the tracking and 
verification process could be slow and often included several delays 
due to insecurity or lack of access to villages.  In general, NGOs 
and UN agencies can access up to 10 km outside of Abyei town, but 
areas beyond 10 km are almost completely inaccessible.  Coverage for 
basic services in rural areas in the Abyei Area is low.  Agencies 
estimated a coverage rate of between 20 to 50 percent for health and 
water, sanitation, and hygiene services.  Health coverage for 
communities in the areas off the main roads is estimated to be 
almost zero. 
 
¶11.  On April 2 in Abyei, relief organizations repeatedly told the 
USAID/Sudan Mission Director that construction of feeder roads in 
Abyei is crucial to improving access to basic services, stimulating 
economic recovery, and facilitating sustainable reintegration for 
returnee communities.  The organizations also gave mixed messages 
regarding Abyei's readiness for longer-term development activities. 
In the meeting, some agencies stated that Abyei was still in an 
emergency phase, while most convincingly argued that initiating 
urgently needed development activities will help to stabilize a 
volatile and tense situation.  USAID currently supports relief, 
transition, and development programs in Abyei but because the region 
has lacked a local administration, NGOs and development agencies 
have lacked an effective official counterpart with whom to work. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  The GOSS-sponsored returns to Abyei town appear to be 
voluntary, though they are obviously actively encouraged as an 
integral part of GOSS/SPLM policy in advance of the census and to 
create "facts on the ground" by having a larger Dinka population in 
place in the oil-rich, contested region.  The returns appear to be 
sufficiently supported by the SSRRC, UNMIS RRR, and NGOs upon 
arrival in Abyei.  UNMIS should be encouraged to stand ready to 
provide force protection to future GOSS-sponsored return convoys 
passing through Southern Kordofan State, in order to minimize delays 
en route for the returnees. CDA Fernandez made that point to the 
UNMIS Force Commander Zamcont and will do the same with SRSG Qazi. 
 
¶13.  The lack of access beyond a 10 km radius north from Abyei town 
is a major obstacle to sustainable reintegration into rural villages 
and the resumption of agricultural livelihoods.  The ability of 
returnees, both organized and spontaneous, to establish viable 
livelihoods in Abyei will remain a primary concern for aid agencies. 
 A focus on reintegration and livelihood activities targeting 
returnees is clearly needed in 2008.  In the coming months, return, 
reintegration, and displacement dynamics will add another layer to 
the already complicated social, ethnic, and political interactions 
in Abyei. 
 
KHARTOUM 00000540  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶14.  USAID is currently considering funding several new projects, 
such as airstrip construction, feeder roads, and vocational 
training, in Abyei.  USAID is committed to scaling-up activity in 
Abyei area in the coming months, but is also cognizant of the 
numerous challenges of operating in this key area for CPA 
implementation. 
 
FERNANDEZ