Sudan: Over one million return to Khartoum amid fragile recovery

This article is published in association with United Nations.

More than a million people have returned to Sudan’s war-ravaged capital in the past ten months, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday, warning that basic services remain shattered amid continuing disease outbreaks.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the returns took place between November 2024 and September 2025, as families made their way back to Khartoum from across Sudan, seeking to rebuild their lives after months of displacement.

“The scale of return to Khartoum is both a sign of resilience and a warning,” said Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director General for Operations, who recently visited the country.

“I met people coming back to a city still scarred by conflict, where homes are damaged and basic services are barely functioning.”

Nearly 3.8 million people are estimated to have left the Khartoum region, meaning that current returns account for just a quarter of those uprooted from the state. An estimated 2.7 million more could head home if conditions improve.

Across Sudan, 2.6 million return movements were recorded during the same period, including 523,844 people heading back across national borders – mostly from Egypt, South Sudan and Libya.

Isolated pockets of stability

Despite isolated pockets of stability, IOM warned that the humanitarian situation remains dire.

“Across Sudan, cholera, dengue and malaria are spreading, making it even more urgent to invest in clean water, health care and other essential services so that people can truly start over,” Ms. Daniels said.

Many returnees are living in damaged homes or collective centres, with little access to clean water, healthcare, or protection. Slightly more than half are in rural areas, and nearly half are children.

© UNICEF/Proscovia Nakibuuka

Clashes and insecurity in Sudan continues to force people to flee their homes in search of safety.

Thousands trapped in El Fasher

The crisis has been particularly severe in El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur, where more than one million people have fled since the start of the war between military government forces and rival RSF militia in April 2023.

Thousands remain trapped amid indiscriminate shelling, sexual violence and ethnically targeted attacks, with reports of civilians resorting to eating animal feed to survive.

Recent IOM field reports indicate that over 13,000 people have been newly displaced across North Darfur and West Kordofan between 15 and 20 October, as insecurity intensifies. UN teams are monitoring the situation and assisting affected communities.

Displaced families in the town of Tawila received aid on Monday having walked for days to escape the violence in El Fasher. Access, however, remains difficult.

“We and our partners continue to scale up our response efforts where access allows,” said Farhan Haq, UN Deputy Spokesperson, briefing the press in New York.

Silence the guns

Sudan’s civil war pits the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – once allies who turned their weapons on each other in April 2023. Fighting has displaced more than ten million people, destroyed large parts of Khartoum and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

IOM said it continues to work with partners to provide life-saving aid and strengthen data collection to guide relief efforts. It reiterated the appeal on the warring sides to “silence the guns, end the suffering and find lasting solutions for the people of Sudan.”

“The people of Sudan have shown remarkable strength and a deep desire to rebuild their lives once peace is restored,” the agency said. “Their determination is remarkable, but life remains incredibly fragile.”