Lina Altawell
10 September 2026•Update: 10 September 2026
A total of 392 Sudanese nationals returned home from Egypt under a voluntary return program Thursday, with the latest group including teachers, students and their families, according to the Hope Committee for Voluntary Return.
The returnees, who came from Cairo, Alexandria and Aswan, included students at different levels of general education, Sudan's official news agency SUNA reported.
Sudanese Embassy Cultural Adviser in Cairo Asim Hassan Ahmed said the embassy is keen to facilitate the return of teachers, students and their families to Sudan so they can join the new academic year and resume the educational process.
The embassy is giving special attention to these groups, he said, adding that the return of university professors was completed last week as part of efforts to bring educational staff and students back to Sudan.
“Return operations will continue until the last Sudanese person wishing to return from Egypt to the country is brought back,” said Montaser Othman Omar, executive secretary of the Hope Committee for Voluntary Return.
The committee gives special attention to students, as they require arrangements to ensure they return in time to resume their studies in Sudan, he said.
The committee sent 20 buses with 980 Sudanese nationals from Cairo back to Sudan on Sept. 7.
In August, 4,977 Sudanese were returned in six trips under the voluntary return program, while 6,074 returned from Egypt in July in six trips.
Since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023, more than 1.2 million Sudanese have fled to Egypt, according to official estimates. Around 5 million Sudanese were already living there before the war, making Egypt one of the main destinations for those fleeing the fighting.
By the end of 2025, around 428,676 people had voluntarily returned to Sudan, according to figures previously announced by Sudanese Ambassador Abdel Qader Abdullah.
The returns followed an initiative launched by Egypt in October 2025 to transport Sudanese wishing to return through a dedicated train from Cairo to Aswan.
The war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced around 13 million, according to UN and international estimates.
