Elias Biech, the deputy mayor of Malakal, insists that stability has returned to the city, and that residents who had fled are safe to return from the camp. He denies that government troops have been involved in the targeting of women for sexual violence when they venture outside the camp, and blames the UN and journalists for fabricating stories. ‘For me, it is Unmiss who are causing this,’ he says. ‘The language of the media also creates problems. They exaggerate. There is no rape at all’