11 July 2011 - The first group of 41 internally displaced people left Aramba village, located 17 km north of Kabkabiya, and arrived in Sereh Ajanna, 15 km northwest of Kutum, North Darfur, on 10 July. A second group of 90 people was expected to complete today the same 95 km journey.

The returnees were escorted by UNAMID in a joint operation with the Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commission, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and other UN agencies who are also working to urgently address the problem of shortage of water at the return site.

About 230 semi-nomadic displaced families living in Aramba village will participate in the five-day return operation back to their village of origin. In 2003, the inhabitants fled the area at the start of the conflict. The locality is equipped with two water points and one school building in need of rehabilitation. The current residents who arrived last year from Kabkabiya rely on one clinic supported by the World Health Organization in Damrad Al Sheikh, about two kilometers from the village.

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