(OCHA) - The government’s Voluntary Return and Resettlement Commission (VRRC)—with the support of a national NGO

Manal—has facilitated the return of a group of some 500 families of internally displaced persons (IDPs)—about 2,500 people—to return to their Turba village, near El Malam town in Alwehda locality, in South Darfur. The IDPs had been hosted 40 km away in Shangil Tobay IDP camp, in North Darfur. In December, their leadership had informed a government delegation visiting Shangil Tobay of their interest in returning to their home village, said a report from VRRC. Also in December, the same government delegation visited Turba village—the return area—and met with local authorities and the neighbouring community, who expressed their willingness to receive the returnees.
The returnees were provided with cereal, blankets, mats, 195 plastic sheets and 90 tents at Turba village. A mission led by the VRRC, supported by the Recovery, Return and Reintegration (RRR) sector, will be conducted soon to assess the conditions of return and to be better informed on Government and communities plans for the area which will ensure the sustainability of the return.