Over 3 Million Sudanese Return Home as Conflict Dynamics Shift

13 November 2025

Sudanese nationals who fled the war to Egypt return to their country. Reuters photo

November 13, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – More than 3.3 million Sudanese have returned to the country as of early November, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) reported, driven by a reduction in fighting in some areas and difficult conditions in neighbouring nations.

While nearly 2.5 million Sudanese remain as refugees abroad following the war that broke out in April 2023, recent months have seen a significant shift in movement patterns, particularly from Egypt and Libya.

The UNHCR stated that approximately 3.37 million people had returned by November 8. The agency attributed the reverse flow to perceived security improvements in parts of Sudan, family reunification efforts, and the financial hardships faced by refugees in host countries.

Egypt, which hosts about 1.5 million Sudanese, has seen 350,000 people return. However, the movement is fluid; the report noted that nearly 98% of those crossing back from Egypt are “pendular movers” intending to return to Egypt within six months.

In contrast, returns from the south are being driven by renewed violence outside Sudan’s borders. Conflict in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State has pushed over 208,000 people into Sudan since late February, including 133,000 returning Sudanese nationals and 75,000 South Sudanese refugees.

The influx has strained infrastructure in Sudan’s Northern State, which already hosts more than 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Local authorities struggle to support the transit of returnees. According to the report, about 150 people per week are stranded in the border town of Wadi Halfa, and 75 in Dongola, lacking the funds to travel to their home areas.

Returnees identified financial support, food, and water as their most urgent needs upon arrival.