Appeal to Sudan’s Embassy: Buses Returning from Egypt Clogged at Ashkeit Border Crossing

Travels for Sudanese returning to the country following the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) victories in Khartoum, Al-Gezira, Sennar, and the White Nile states have been organized in Greater Cairo, Aswan, and other governorates across the Arab Republic of Egypt.

These trips were facilitated by initiatives from national and civil society organizations and philanthropists.

During the month of Ramadan, daily trips were smoothly organized, with an average of 10 to 15 buses per day crossing the Ashkeit Border Crossing, coordinated by the Egyptian authorities.

The Sudan News Agency (SUNA) revealed a doubling of returnee traffic following the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which caused a backlog of buses and returnees at the Abu Simbel Camp due to the connection of traveling movement with the ferries transporting the buses from Abu Simbel to the crossings on the eastern bank.

Activists from organizations and initiatives responsible for the return flights called on the Sudanese authorities and embassy to facilitate the flow of returnees via the continental route through the Arqin border crossing and to allow returnees to obtain emergency travel documents through the Sudanese consulate in Aswan to ease the congestion on travel buses in Abu Simbel.

An activist revealed that buses were backlogged at the Abu Simbel bus station as of Friday, with more than 120 buses awaiting departure time. This required travelers to wait more than three days for permission to depart, most of whom were families, including the sick, children, and the elderly.

An official source at the Ashkeit crossing confirmed the arrival of 40 buses on special group returnee voyages last Thursday and expected the number of voyages to double in the coming days.

This problem arises in light of the influx of travel from Cairo and Aswan governorates via daily, non-stop group trips to the army battalion camp.
The Egyptian authorities are providing facilities for returnees who violated residency procedures or entered Egypt illegally, and they prefer to return via the battalion to avoid accountability from the Egyptian side at the Qastal crossing.