Over 5 Million Sudanese Return to Their Areas

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday that more than 5.1 million people have returned to their areas of origin in Sudan, while 8.6 million people remain displaced. The organization warned that families are at risk of being displaced again without urgent support.

New data released by the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) showed that the number of returnees reached 5,145,165 people across 76 localities in nine states, an increase of 4 percent compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, more than 8 million people remain displaced across 185 localities in all Sudanese states.

IOM Director General Amy Pope said: “More than five million Sudanese have returned home. This reflects so much of their courage and hope. But returning home is only the beginning. Many families are returning to damaged homes, closed schools, and health centers that are barely functioning. Livelihood opportunities are also extremely limited. If we do not support them now, many will be forced to flee again. We must invest in these communities today so that people can rebuild their lives and remain there.”

Some 82 percent of the returnees—around 4.2 million people—had been internally displaced within Sudan. The remaining 18 percent—around 930,000 people—returned from outside the country.

Among those returning from abroad, Egypt was the main country of return, accounting for 50 percent, followed by South Sudan at 25 percent, Libya at 10 percent, and the Gulf countries at 8 percent.