Ethiopian refugees in Juba want their elderly relatives to be returned.

Ethiopian refugees at the Gorom Refugee Camp near Juba have urged the South Sudanese government and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to make it easier for their elderly relatives to return to Ethiopia.

South Sudan’s interior minister, the commissioner for refugee issues, and UNHCR’s deputy country representative paid a visit to the camp on Friday.

Ojullu Ochan Ochan, the camp’s head, said that the old should be deported to Ethiopia, while those who are willing should be naturalized as South Sudanese citizens.

“For medical and other reasons, we are asking for resettlement.” “We’re seeking for old folks to be repatriated to Ethiopia,” Ochan stated. “We also instructed them to conduct interviews with people who wish to be incorporated into South Sudanese communities in order to become citizens of the country.”

“We have a problem with pastoralists interfering with our agricultural operations. “As a consequence, neither the refugees nor the host community cultivated last year,” he continued.

Ochan further said that the food money allocated to them is insufficient.

Interior Minister Mahmoud Solomon Agook said that his administration would safeguard the refugees’ safety and well-being.

“We, as the Ministry of the Interior, must ensure that you are in a secure and safe environment. Minister Agook said, “We must guarantee that UNHCR and other NGOs in the camp provide you with food, health care, education, and other important services.”

He said that refugees, particularly the elderly, have the right to return home.

“We don’t have any reservations.” We will work with the appropriate authorities to ensure that they return home securely and meet with their family,” he added.

A special police team would be dispatched to ensure protection for the refugees, according to Lt. Gen. Bol John Akot, the commissioner for refugee affairs.

“We’ve heard your chairman’s problems and are working to resolve them. He also said that “the minister has come here to organize a police force to guarantee security for the refugees.”

Before South Sudan’s independence in 2011, Anyuak Ethiopian refugees were transferred from Pochalla to Lologo and Gorom in Juba.

According to the UNHCR, there are 200,000 refugees at the Gorom Refugee Camp.