Geneva/Khartoum, 9 September 2025 - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reopened its office in Khartoum to expand humanitarian and recovery operations in the capital, becoming the first UN agency to re-establish a presence in the city since conflict erupted in April 2023. IOM's return comes at a critical time, as more than two million people have returned to areas perceived to be safer.

Khartoum is now witnessing a sharp increase in returns. In the capital alone, the number of returnees is expected to reach 2.1 million this year, compared to an estimated five million who were displaced from the city at the height of the fighting.

"Movement back to urban areas is accelerating, yet conditions remain volatile," said IOM Director General Amy Pope. "Families are attempting to rebuild in communities already strained by years of displacement and economic hardship, stretching social support networks and local capacities to the limit."

The return trend is not limited to the capital. Between November 2024 and July 2025, nearly two million people returned across 1,611 locations in Aj Jazirah, Khartoum, Sennar, Blue Nile, White Nile, River Nile, and West Darfur. Three in four of these returnees came from locations within Sudan.

Many families arrive to find homes that are damaged or uninhabitable. Electricity and clean water remain scarce. Health care is limited and the risk of cholera persists. Unexploded ordnance continues to endanger civilians in residential areas, near schools, and along access roads.

IOM's return to Khartoum will support the country through this complex recovery phase. The office will function as an inter-agency hub, enabling the UN and humanitarian partners to scale up life-saving assistance and early recovery support in urban areas where needs are most concentrated.

In the first half of 2025, IOM reached more than 600,000 people in Sudan with humanitarian assistance, including access to clean water, protection services, health care, and mental health and psychosocial support. Despite these efforts, the scale of needs continues to outpace available funding.

IOM will work closely with authorities and partners to ensure that communities of return have access to essential services. Support will target both returnees and residents who never left, recognizing that recovery requires rebuilding services for entire communities.

Despite the returns, the conflict is far from over. Violence in Kordofan and Darfur, including the siege of El Fasher now in its second year, has brought catastrophic consequences for civilians and has created famine conditions for many unable to flee.

In Darfur, reaching people in need remains extremely difficult due to insecurity, restricted access, and limited funding. These constraints hinder the ability of humanitarian organizations, including IOM, to respond at the required scale, and they increase the risk that fragile recovery gains will be lost.

Sudan's war has upended lives on an extraordinary scale. More than 14.2 million people have been displaced since the conflict escalated, with 10 million uprooted inside the country and 4.2 million across borders.

To accelerate humanitarian and recovery efforts, IOM is urgently appealing for USD 29 million in flexible funding to sustain humanitarian efforts in Khartoum alone. IOM also urges all parties to facilitate safe, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access.

Note to Editor

IOM's Regional Crisis Response Plan for Sudan and neigbouring countries is critically underfunded, with only 12 per cent of the original USD 428 million appeal met. Within this, the Sudan response is just 11 per cent funded, while neighbouring countries are 14 per cent funded.

For more information, please visit IOM's Media Centre.