Thirty buses carrying 870 Sudanese nationals have departed Egypt for Sudan as part of a voluntary return initiative, according to Sudan’s state news agency SUNA.
The convoy left from Cairo, Alexandria and Aswan and included families, university professors and students, with the operation coordinated by the Al-Amal Committee for Voluntary Return.
Maher Al-Zein Ahmed, head of the committee’s transport section, said the latest journey was one of the largest organised land-return operations so far. Speaking at a departure point in Cairo’s Abdeen district, he said priority had been given to students and academic staff seeking to return ahead of the new academic year.
Ahmed said demand for return journeys was increasing among Sudanese living across several Egyptian governorates. He added that the committee was working to expand partnerships with businesspeople, government institutions and humanitarian organisations to support future transport operations.
The committee is also prioritising returns to towns and neighbourhoods that saw significant population displacement during Sudan’s war, with organisers saying the aim is to help residents re-establish communities in areas where conditions permit.
Ahmed praised arrangements by Sudanese authorities at border crossings and said assistance provided to returnees was intended to ease financial and social pressures on families.
Hassan Khalid, rapporteur of the voluntary return committee, said around 50,000 Sudanese had been transported through the programme since it began, with registrations continuing to rise.
He said the committee was coordinating with Egyptian authorities to facilitate departures and border procedures.
Khalid also urged travellers to respect baggage limits, saying excess luggage remained one of the main logistical problems facing the bus convoys.
Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese fled to Egypt after war erupted in Sudan in April 2023, making Egypt one of the principal destinations for people escaping the conflict. Voluntary return movements have increased as some Sudanese seek to reunite with relatives, resume education or return to areas where they believe security and basic services have improved.
