Adel Abdel Rahim/Anadolu

The first group of Sudanese university and higher institute professors and their families departed from Cairo on Monday, as part of a voluntary return program to Sudan targeting about a thousand academics and their families.

The Sudanese News Agency 'SUNA' reported that the group departed from the Abdeen area in Cairo, under the patronage of the Sudanese Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and includes about a thousand returnees to the country.

The agency did not mention the number of groups to be dispatched, or the number of people each group will include.

The return of academics is being carried out under the supervision of the Professional Union of Sudanese University and Higher Institute Professors, in cooperation with the Cultural Counselor's Office at the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo, according to the same source.

The Cultural Counselor at the embassy, Assem Ahmed Hassan, said that the members of the first group will be hosted by Al-Bayan University for Science and Technology and Al-Mashreq private universities.

He added that a number of Sudanese universities have pledged to host all groups affiliated with higher education institutions and their families.

Hassan affirmed the continuation of the delegation of academics from Egypt, and the embassy's keenness to continue repatriating Sudanese wishing to return to their country through the 'Hope Committee for Voluntary Return'.

For his part, the committee's rapporteur, Hassan Khaled, said that the return of university and higher institute professors and male and female students contributes to the stability of the educational process in Sudan.

He affirmed the committee's keenness to facilitate the return of Sudanese residing in diaspora countries who wish to return to their country.

The program designated for academics comes after general return trips that included Sudanese from various categories, as last Thursday a thousand people returned via 20 buses.

On July 13, 900 Sudanese returned aboard 18 buses, while 800 others were dispatched on the 9th of the same month, and 1,174 Sudanese on July 4.

Since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023, more than 1.2 million Sudanese have left for Egypt, according to official estimates.

About 5 million Sudanese were living in Egypt before the war, making it one of the main destinations for those fleeing the battles.

By the end of 2025, about 428,676 people have voluntarily returned to Sudan, according to figures previously announced by Ambassador Abdel Qader Abdullah.

The return operations came after an initiative launched by the Egyptian authorities in October of the same year, to transport Sudanese wishing to return via a dedicated train from Cairo to Aswan.

The war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, ongoing since 2023 following differences over the integration of the latter into the military establishment, has left tens of thousands dead and nearly 13 million displaced.

The 'Hope Committee for Voluntary Return', a civil humanitarian initiative, works in coordination with Sudanese state institutions to facilitate the return of Sudanese to their country.