Blog Posts in Sudan and South Sudan

Earlier this week, U.N. Interim Security Force for Abyei, or UNISFA, completed the first verification mission to confirm troop withdrawal on both sides of the highly disputed 14-mile area. While this success is reason for cautious optimism in the peace process between Sudan and South Sudan, a new Enough Project policy paper presents critical contextual perspective on the ongoing cycle of progress and setback that has become typical of peace negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan.

The U.N. reports that every day approximately 338 refugees cross from South Kordofan, Sudan, into newly independent South Sudan. Yida refugee camp now hosts more than 70,000 Sudanese who are fleeing atrocities and starvation warfare in their home country. However, the U.N.'s refugee agency maintains that Yida, which lies mere kilometers from the international border between the two Sudans, is an unsuitable location for an “official” refugee camp. Notwithstanding the fact that the camp has been hosting refugees for almost 20 months, the U.N. classifies the camp as a "transit" facility. The reality on the ground tells a very different story.