Now south Sudan faces a major food crisis-- a crisis bred by peace. Refugees are returning to Sudan's south and food resources are already strained. At the moment it isn't clear how many "returnees" will arrive in southern Sudan over the summer. At one time four million people in south Sudan were classified as "displaced" (either internally displaced or in refugee camps in neighboring countries). Many have returned home, but as UN peacekeepers arrive, aid workers anticipate a surge in returnees.

The return of over a million people to the south has also bred violence. Many people coming back south are trying to reclaim land that has, since they were gone, been occupied by others. Since April, about a dozen people a week are killed in these clashes. The violence is organized on a tribal basis, as the refugees often fled as family or clan groups. On returning to the south, these families appeal to their tribal leaders for help in regaining their property.