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Sudan Requests International Support to Help Its 5 Million Refugees

A South Sudanese refugee waits for a food distribution at Al-Nimir camp in Sudan, August 2017. © UNHCR/Petterik Wiggers
A South Sudanese refugee waits for a food distribution at Al-Nimir camp in Sudan, August 2017. © UNHCR/Petterik Wiggers
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Sudan Requests International Support to Help Its 5 Million Refugees

A South Sudanese refugee waits for a food distribution at Al-Nimir camp in Sudan, August 2017. © UNHCR/Petterik Wiggers
A South Sudanese refugee waits for a food distribution at Al-Nimir camp in Sudan, August 2017. © UNHCR/Petterik Wiggers

Sudan has called upon the international community for financial support to be able to help the five million refugees who have settled in the African country.

Sudan’s economy cannot fulfill the needs of the large number of refugees.

The Secretary-General of the Sudanese Working Abroad Makeen Hamid Terab addressed the sixth meeting of the Arab Regional Consultation Process on the Coronavirus Effects on Migration and Refugee Affairs.

The meeting was organized by the Migration and Refugee Affairs department at the Arab League.

Terab, in his address, said that the Sudanese government was and still is working in close cooperation with friends and the international community to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus on refugees and to help Sudanese expats stuck abroad to return home.

Terab called on Arab countries to cooperate closely to overcome the effects of the coronavirus.

The meeting was attended my Arab League member states, international community organizations and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

Terab said that the meeting recognized that the Arab region showed more cases of the virus spreading than anywhere else in the world because of the migration movement and its expansion. More so, the Arab region is one of the world’s hubs for refugees.

The Sudanese official said that the government made great efforts to host the refugees and interact with their issues, noting the economic impact the pandemic had on supporting the refugees.

“The number of refugees in the country exceeded 5 million, which exceeds the country's economic potential. We ask the international community to expedite the provision of the necessary assistance so that Sudan can fulfill its responsibilities towards the displaced and refugees,” Terab said.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, last January, called for increased support for Sudan with the launch of a new funding appeal that seeks US$477 million to help over 900,000 refugees in the country together with nearly a quarter million of their Sudanese hosts in the coming year.

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Arab World

Displaced People Return to South Lebanon as Ceasefire Appears to Hold

People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
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Displaced People Return to South Lebanon as Ceasefire Appears to Hold

People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)
People in their cars return back to their villages after the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel began early morning, in Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP)

Long-displaced residents of south Lebanon started returning to their homes amid celebrations hours after a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah group took effect early Wednesday morning.

The ceasefire has brought relief across the nation, coming after days of some of the most intense airstrikes and clashes since the war began, though many wondered if the agreement to stop fighting would hold. Israel has said it will attack if Hezbollah breaks the ceasefire agreement, which was announced Tuesday.

Hundreds of cars made their way into southern Lebanon, defying a warning from the Israeli army to stay away from previously evacuated areas.

Israeli military spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued the warning on the social platform X.

“You are prohibited from heading towards the villages that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated or towards IDF forces in the area,” Adraee wrote, using an acronym for the Israeli military. “For your safety and the safety of your family members, refrain from moving to the area.”

At least 42 people were killed by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday, according to local authorities. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens in the country’s north.

Displaced people started returning to the coastal city of Tyre on motorcycles and in cars early Wednesday.

Ahmed Husseini said returning to southern Lebanon was an “indescribable feeling” and praised Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, who led Lebanon’s negotiations with Washington. “He made us and everyone proud.”

Husseini, who earlier fled a town near the coastal city, spoke to The Associated Press while in his car with family members.

Meanwhile, sporadic celebratory gunfire can be heard at a main roundabout in the city, as people returning honked the horns of cars — some piled with mattresses — and residents cheered.

A couple of men shouted slogans praising slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.

Hussein Sweidan said he sees the ceasefire as a victory for Hezbollah. “This is a moment of victory, pride and honor for us, the Shiite sect, and for all of Lebanon,” he said.

The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire marks the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but it does not address the devastating war in Gaza.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel a day after Hamas’ attack. The fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south.

In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.