Sudan Grapples With Influx of Over 128,000 Returnees From South Sudan

Sudanese refugees and South Sudanese returnees relocate from Abyei to Aweil citing hunger, lack of shelter on May 11, 2025

August 26, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – More than 128,000 Sudanese have returned from South Sudan since April, fleeing renewed conflict and adding to a humanitarian crisis in border states, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in a report.

The returns were driven by fresh clashes between armed groups in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State that began in late February.

Blue Nile State has received the most significant number, with an estimated 86,000 returnees, while over 42,000 have arrived in White Nile State. The agency warned that the influx has overstretched health facilities in Blue Nile, where there are no on-site delivery services, night-time health services, or prenatal care available.

The returnees are part of a larger wave of nearly 200,000 people, including an estimated 69,000 South Sudanese refugees, who have crossed into Sudan to escape the violence.

Humanitarian agencies are responding to the crisis, with the UNHCR focusing on protection monitoring and movement tracking. At the Joda border crossing, a mobile clinic supported by the Ministry of Health, WHO, and UNICEF is providing services to new arrivals.