However, Yahya’s hopes collide with the bitter reality that the village from which he fled still lacks the most basic necessities of life, with no health, education, and clean drinking water, in addition to the security situation, which is still fragile despite the signing of the peace agreement.
Like Yahya, there are thousands of displaced people who were displaced by the war led by the rescue regime in the Darfur region of western Sudan in 2003, planning to return to the areas from which they fled, to start a new life after nearly two decades spent in shelter camps under very bad humanitarian conditions, due to lack of food and lack of Services.
Many still complain about the state of security fragility in separate areas of the troubled region, which has exacerbated the residents’ fears due to the increasing cases of kidnapping and deliberate killing.
According to specialists in the region, in light of the fragility that has become a feature of life in Darfur, it is difficult for citizens to return to their homes, especially since the challenges are many.
Journalist and political analyst Muhammad Suleiman Hamid says that the return of the displaced and refugees to their original areas is difficult to achieve at the present time, due to many considerations, including the fact that hundreds of villages that were abandoned by their people need rehabilitation, but this seems not possible in light of the economic conditions that Sudan is experiencing.
In his interview with “Sky News Arabia”, Suleiman indicated that the spread of weapons in the hands of the population and not being restricted to the security and military services, makes the return of the displaced to their villages at the present time difficult, if not impossible.
Lack of food and medicine
Despite efforts to bring peace and stop the war in the region, including the signing of the Juba Agreement after the fall of the Bashir regime, there are fears of the continued deterioration of security, making it difficult for the displaced to return to their villages, some of which are still deserted.
According to official statistics issued by the United Nations, there are about one and a half million displaced people residing in a number of camps in the five states of Darfur, in a very difficult and complex humanitarian situation in light of severe food shortages, following the suspension of the work of a number of organizations that were providing food.
Return Terms
Many displaced people hope that the Juba Agreement will contribute to their return to their villages and areas of origin after years of living in shelter camps, but this return, according to the official spokesman for the Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees in the Darfur region, Adam Regal, is difficult to achieve at the present time.
In an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, men stressed that “the realization of the hopes and dreams of the displaced is linked first to achieving security and disarmament, and the prosecution of the perpetrators who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, led by the ousted President Omar al-Bashir and his Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hussein at the International Criminal Court.” As well as the expulsion of those who controlled their lands during the war years, and the expulsion of those who have now begun mining for gold in the villages of the displaced from which they fled.
The source stressed, “the need to prosecute those involved in the displacement of refugees, in order to serve as a lesson to everyone who tries to commit similar crimes in the future.”
Men stressed the need to compensate the refugees “individually” for the money they lost after the outbreak of the war, and “collectively” by developing their areas and building schools and health facilities.
He explains that “the situation in Darfur, despite the signing of the Juba Agreement, is still deteriorating,” referring to the targeting of displaced persons in camps in West Darfur, which led to a new wave of displacement.