PORT SUDAN: Half a million people returned to the Sudanese capital Khartoum in July alone, the United Nations’ migration agency said Monday, as the city begins to recover even as the country’s devastating war rages elsewhere.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said an estimated 500,074 individuals made their way back to the city last month — a staggering 400 percent increase compared with June.
The spike in returns came four months after Sudan’s army recaptured the city from its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in March, and as the government launches reconstruction efforts.
Across Sudan, around two million people have returned to their homes over the past nine months, according to the UN. Nearly half of those have resettled in the central Al-Jazira state, followed by Khartoum with over 600,000 returnees.
The UN has however said the situation remains highly precarious, with basic services limited and the risk of renewed violence still present.
