More than 5.1 million people have returned to their areas of origin in Sudan, while 8.6 million remain displaced, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said today. Many are going back to a country still wracked by conflict, where damaged homes, schools and clinics cannot meet the needs. Without urgent support, families risk being uprooted again.
New data from IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) records 5,145,165 returnees in 76 localities across nine states: four per cent more than last month. Another 8,583,274 people are still displaced in 185 localities across all 18 states. This is about one per cent lower than last month and 26 per cent below the peak of the crisis. Even with these new figures, Sudan still hosts one of the largest displaced populations in the world.
“More than five million Sudanese have gone home. That says a lot about their courage and their hope,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. “But getting home is only the start. Many families are returning to homes that are damaged, schools that are closed and clinics that barely function. There are few livelihood opportunities. If we don’t help them now, many will be forced to move again. We need to invest in these communities today, so people can rebuild their lives and stay.”
Most returnees, 82 per cent or roughly 4.2 million people, had been displaced inside Sudan. The other 18 per cent, roughly 930,000 people, came back from abroad. Among those returning from abroad, Egypt was the primary country of return (50%), followed by South Sudan (25%), Libya (10%) and Gulf countries (8%). …
https://www.iom.int/news/5-million-sudanese-return-home-broken-places-iom-warns