More than 8.5 million people remain displaced across Sudan despite the return of over 5.1 million people to their areas of origin, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in its latest displacement update.

According to the IOM, 5,145,165 people have returned to their homes across 76 localities in nine states, marking a 4% increase compared with the previous month.

Of those who returned, about 82% (around 4.2 million) were internally displaced persons, while the remaining 18% (around 930,000) returned from neighboring countries.

Displacement crisis continues

The agency said 8,583,274 people remain internally displaced across 185 localities in all 18 Sudanese states.

Although the number of displaced people has fallen by around 1% since last month and by 26% from the peak of the crisis, the IOM stressed that Sudan continues to face one of the world's largest displacement crises.

The agency also noted that children account for roughly 53% of the displaced population.

Most recent returns have been recorded in Khartoum, Al Jazirah and Sennar states following improvements in security conditions.

Families still need urgent support

IOM Director General Amy Pope said many returning families are finding destroyed homes, closed schools, limited healthcare services and inadequate access to electricity, clean water and other essential services.

She called for increased international support to help communities rebuild their lives and prevent renewed displacement.

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has continued since 15 April 2023, triggering a humanitarian crisis that has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.(ILKHA)