Thousands of people from South Sudan could miss to witness the historic birth of their new country, unless something is done to help those stranded in the Northern part of Sudan.
Uganda Radio Network reporter in Juba says that the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) estimates about 16,000 southerners are stranded at a transit center on the Nile River. Most of the stranded southerners fled the south at the height of the civil conflict.
Dominik Bartsch, UNHCR coordinator for Sudan and Chad, says about 300,000 of the two million Southerners who have been living in the north have returned home. He however says that many of the stranded southerners are waiting in sites inside the Khartoum city.
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In January 2011, the people of Southern Sudan voted to secede from the North, following decades of fighting between the North and the south over oil, ethnicity and religion.
Preparations for the birth of the the world’s newest country are in high gear.
Security has been tightened and URN reporter in Juba says that police are confiscating illegal weapons and security in Juba town has been tightened ahead of the July 9th Independence Day celebrations.
There have been massive parade rehearsals and an air of happiness is every where as laborers pace up and down putting final touches on the buildings.
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