September 4, 2023 (KHARTOUM) -The Sudanese government has granted refugee status to 247 former United Nations peacekeepers from Ethiopia who served in the UN mission in the disputed Abyei region. “The daily report of the Gedaref State Housing Office for Refugees indicated today (September 2) that 247 of the 649 refugees (…) were granted refugee status,” said the Sudan News Agency. Prior to the grant, authorities had conducted refugee Status Determination for the asylum seekers, the official news agency further said. Last year, over 500 Ethnic Tigrayan UN peacekeepers refused to return home after completing their UN mission in the disputed Abyei region citing fears for their safety due to the civil war raging at home. The UN deployed about 4,000 peacekeepers, mainly Ethiopians, to Abyei in 2011 after South Sudan seceded from Sudan.

Source: Ethiopian News September 04, 2022 21:27 UTC