UN troops to help South Sudan refugees return home

David Shearer, the Head of Head of United National in South Sudan (UNMISS), announced the move on Tuesday, saying better health and education facilities were urgently needed in the state of Western Nile.

"It also means that humanitarian agencies are more likely to come back. And in Kodok, here in Fashoda (Kodok used to be known as Fashoda) generally, there is a real need for improved health, improved education facilities," he said.

Some 40 peacekeepers are based in the state's town of Kodok over the past seven months, with thousands of South Sudanese displaced by fighting in the region.

Fashoda Deputy Governor Nyiker Okoth Awin said the security situation has improved and "the presence of the UN and, especially the forces, is a stabilising thing for the people". Civilians were beginning to return to their homes, he said.

"The security situation is good, improving, and, of course, the presence of the UN and, especially the forces, is a stabilising thing for the people... Others may not be with us, so having a third party [the UN] is a good thing."

UNMISS engineers will also help rebuild local infrastructure including roads, bridges and the local jetty.

South Sudan descended into war in late 2013, when President Salva Kiir accused his former vice president Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

A US-funded study released in September put the death toll from the war to at least 382,9000, far higher than previous estimates and more than in the conflict in Syria.

Despite a peace deal signed in September, the UN experts said they observed "alarming levels of sexual and gender-based violence, food insecurity and grave human rights abuses, including against children."