Egypt Launches 21 Free Return Journeys for Sudanese Refugees From Cairo to Sudan

Sudanese refugees and displaced people are leaving Egypt for Sudan through a mix of free and voluntary return initiatives, with multiple routes and schedules described across outlets.

“While seeking refuge in Egypt from the war ravaging their country, Sudanese refugees are returning home”

Africanews

Al-Jazeera Net reported that “21 return journeys for Sudanese refugees from Egypt to Sudan were launched” on Tuesday, with Mohamed Abbas of the “Hope Committee for Voluntary Return” saying “21 journeys departed on Tuesday, involving more than 1,000 people.”

Africanews

It said “10 buses moved from central Cairo,” “five buses moved from the Haram district of Giza Governorate,” “two trips departed from Alexandria,” and “three buses moved from Aswan Governorate,” adding that “each bus carried 49 passengers.”

Le Monde.fr described a separate rail-based operation on Monday, July 21, when “about 850 passengers boarded in 'air-conditioned third class' for twelve hours of travel to Aswan” before crossing “by bus,” and it said the program was “jointly organized by the Egyptian National Railways and the Sudanese Defense Industries.”

APAnews similarly said “From Cairo's central station, several hundred people displaced by the civil war boarded free trains on July 21, 2025,” with an “initial rail journey of about 12 hours to Aswan,” followed by “ferries and coaches” to reach Khartoum.

Africanews added that “Hundreds of them boarded trains on Monday at Cairo's central train station, bound for Khartoum,” and that “The train journeys are offered free of charge by Egypt.”

Across the reporting, the return movement is framed as voluntary and organized, but it is also occurring while other Sudanese continue to flee, including via border crossings and other routes.

The return initiatives are unfolding against a backdrop of ongoing war and large-scale displacement, with the sources tying the movement to the conflict’s duration and humanitarian impact.

Al-Jazeera Net said the “ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, now in its fourth year,” has “killed tens of thousands of people” and “caused the displacement of more than 12 million inside the country,” while “forced more than 4 million others to flee to neighboring countries.”

Al-Jazeera Net

It also reported that “According to the United Nations, about 4 million people have voluntarily returned to their homes in Sudan despite the ongoing war,” and that the IOM “seeks to raise 170 million dollars for the 2026 Sudan crisis response plan,” while the plan “still faces a funding gap of 97.2 million dollars.”

UN News described returns as beginning while the conflict persists, saying “more than 1.3 million people who have been forcibly displaced, including 300,000 refugees, have returned home,” mainly in “Khartoum, Sennar, and Al Jazirah.”

UN News also warned that “conditions for return remain dangerous due to widespread damage and the collapse of basic services,” and it said UN agencies traveled to Khartoum and “were able to witness the widespread devastation and the chronic lack of services.”

It quoted Mamadou Dian Balde, Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Crisis, saying, “More than a proof of people’s desire to return to their country, these returns are a desperate call for an end to the war so that people can come back and rebuild their lives.”

UN News further stated that agencies have received “only 23% of the $4.2 billion needed to deliver life-saving assistance to nearly 21 million vulnerable people inside Sudan,” and that for the refugee response they have received “only 16% of the $1.8 billion needed.”

Le Monde.fr added that since April 2023, the war has “killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 14 million,” and it said the United Nations expects “more than 2 million returns to Greater Khartoum by the end of the year.”

The sources include direct voices from returnees, UN officials, and organizers, portraying both the emotional pull of going home and the dangers of returning to damaged areas.

Le Monde.fr quoted Khadija Mohamed Ali, a “45-year-old housewife,” saying, “I'm happy to reconnect with my neighbors, my family, my street” in the “East Nile district of Khartoum,” and it described the moment of departure at “Cairo's central train station” when “Cheers erupt, and women let out ululations.”

It also quoted Maryam Ahmed Mohamed, 52, who said, “Things will improve slowly,” adding, “At least we'll be at home with our family and friends.”

UN News quoted Mamadou Dian Balde saying, “these returns are a desperate call for an end to the war so that people can come back and rebuild their lives,” and it quoted Abdallah Al Dardari, Director of the Regional Bureau for the Arab States of the UNDP, saying, “We are in a race against the clock to clear the rubble and provide water, electricity and health care.”

UN News also quoted Othman Belbeisi, the IOM regional director, insisting, “it is essential to emphasize that return must remain a voluntary, informed, and dignified choice.”

Al-Jazeera Net included the organizer Mohamed Abbas describing the “Hope Committee for Voluntary Return” as the organizer of the trips, while Africanews quoted a return candidate, Awatif al-Hassan, saying, “We came to Egypt to stay here, and my daughter is with me. Now I am returning to Sudan.”

At the same time, Al-Quds Al-Arabi (القدس العربي) described fears tied to security crackdowns in Egypt, quoting Omar, a man in his sixties, saying, “I fear for my children that they will be detained,” and it also quoted him saying he decided to return “before Eid al-Fitr.”

The same report said the Hope Committee’s chair, engineer Mohammed Wadaa, stressed that the initiative is “not a governmental or partisan entity,” and that its goal is to “safeguard the right of Sudanese to freely choose.”

While the return trips are described as voluntary and organized in several reports, other coverage emphasizes how security crackdowns and deportation campaigns in Egypt shape decisions to leave.

Le Monde.fr frames the Monday train as a hopeful homecoming, describing “hundreds of Sudanese families” at “Cairo's central train station” and quoting returnees about reconnecting with “neighbors” and “family,” while it notes that “for most, the return home seems less motivated by confidence in the future than by the present hardship in Egypt.”

UN News

It says the “roughly 1.5 million Sudanese” in Egypt have “restricted rights to work and access to public services,” and it quotes Hayam Mohamed, 34, saying, “Life is too expensive here. My children will go back to school and I will live with my family.”

UN News, by contrast, emphasizes the humanitarian conditions in return areas, stating that “Public infrastructure—power lines, roads, and drainage systems—has been completely destroyed,” and that “Schools and hospitals have been destroyed or turned into collective shelters.”

It also says “Lost or destroyed civil registration documents” can prevent access to services, and it highlights “the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance” alongside “sexual violence and violations of children’s rights.”

Al-Quds Al-Arabi (القدس العربي) adds a sharper Egypt-focused driver, saying the “rate of return of Sudanese refugees living in Egypt to their homeland has increased” after “a campaign by Egyptian security agencies aimed at regularizing their status and the launch of voluntary return initiatives.”

It quotes Omar explaining that “many Sudanese have decided to return because of security persecutions,” and it says he fears detention for his children.

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (الشرق الأوسط) similarly links rising return numbers to “Egyptian deportation campaigns targeting people without valid residence permits,” and it quotes Ibrahim Ezzedine saying that “many families prefer spending on returning rather than bearing the cost of staying in Egypt and paying a large rent for another month.”

That report also states that “Voluntary return trips have shown a notable rise in the past two weeks, even as free-return trips have declined,” and it attributes the shift to deportation pressure.

In parallel, Al-Jazeera Net and APAnews describe the logistics and sponsorship of return trips, including the “Hope Committee for Voluntary Return” and the role of Sudan’s “Sovereignty Council Chairman, Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Burhan,” which Al-Jazeera Net says sponsored the project.

The sources describe ongoing planning for further returns, while also stressing that return is not simply a transport problem but depends on services, security, and funding.

“On this sweltering Monday morning, hundreds of Sudanese families flock to Cairo's central train station with piles of luggage to board a free train and return to their country, ravaged by two years of deadly war”

Le Monde.fr

UN News says agencies are working on “drinking water,” “strengthen the capacity of health centers,” and preventing “the spread of deadly diseases such as cholera,” while also setting up “Secure spaces for women” in “Khartoum and Al Jazira” for “legal assistance to victims of sexual violence.”

Akhbar al-Sudan

It says plans are underway for “waste removal, including dangerous war debris,” and it frames the work as “a race against the clock to clear the rubble and provide water, electricity and health care.”

UN News also warns that “conditions remain perilous,” noting that “power lines, roads, and drainage systems” are destroyed, that “Schools and hospitals have been destroyed or turned into collective shelters,” and that “Lost or destroyed civil registration documents” can block access to services.

It adds that “dangers posed by unexploded ordnance” persist, alongside “sexual violence and violations of children’s rights.”

On the Egypt side, Al-Jazeera Net says the voluntary return project began in April 2025 under the sponsorship of Sudan’s “Sovereignty Council Chairman, Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Burhan,” and it says it is under the supervision of the Sudanese Defense Industries System.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi (القدس العربي) reports that the Hope Committee’s chair, engineer Mohammed Wadaa, said the committee places “thorny files” at the top of its agenda, including “addressing the conditions of Sudanese detainees and inmates in Egyptian prisons,” and seeking “understandings with Egyptian authorities” to grant “legal deadlines.”

In terms of future routes, جريدة الدستور (جريدة الدستور | West Asian) reports that the Sudanese Embassy in Tripoli began implementing voluntary return from Libya, setting “Friday, May 1” for the first flight operated by “Afriqiyah Airways” from “Mitiga International Airport,” carrying “166 passengers,” and it says travel procedures begin “on Wednesday, April 29” with assembly at the embassy premises in “the Qargosh area” at “5 p.m.”

It also says the Hope Committee in Egypt announced evacuating first batches by land, with “six trips from Cairo” carrying “regular pensioners and their families.”

Meanwhile, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (الشرق الأوسط) reports that after free-return trips halted at the start of the year while funding was sought, “the campaign opened registration for those wishing to return for free,” and it says the “new phase will include sea trips from Aswan to the Sudanese port of Wadi Halfa.”