Nearly 4M displaced returned across Sudan amid fragile conditions: UN migration agency

Nearly 4 million people have voluntarily returned across Sudan but a lack of basic services and damaged infrastructure risks making those returns unsustainable, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned on Tuesday.

The agency said in a statement that most returns have been concentrated in Al Jazirah and Khartoum, where people are returning despite ongoing destruction and limited services.

“For many people, returning home should mark the beginning of recovery. Instead, too often it means confronting destroyed services, damaged homes and new uncertainty,” said SungAh Lee, IOM deputy director general for management and reform.

“People need access to basic services, safe housing and ways to restore their livelihoods. Without that support, safe and dignified returns become much harder to sustain,” she added.

At the height of the conflict, nearly 12 million people fled heavily affected areas across Sudan, which plunged into civil war in April 2023, while more than 4 million crossed into neighboring countries, according to the IOM.

The agency said nearly 9 million people remain internally displaced.

It warned that damaged water systems, electricity networks, health facilities and housing in Khartoum, as well as broken agricultural systems in Aj Jazirah, continue to complicate recovery efforts.

The IOM also said its 2026 crisis response plan for Sudan remains underfunded by $97.2 million, noting more than 2 million additional people expected to voluntarily return to Khartoum alone this year.