مصر تخصص قطاراً لتسهيل عودة السودانيين

The Egyptian authorities have dedicated a train to facilitate the voluntary return of thousands of Sudanese to their homeland. They have decided to provide various necessary services for the comfort of the Sudanese during the journey and until their arrival at the High Dam port.

The National Authority for Egyptian Railways announced today (Monday) the operation of a special train to facilitate the transport of Sudanese residing in Egypt who wish to return to their homeland via Aswan Governorate. It was reported that train number 1940 will operate from Cairo to Aswan for this mission.

The Sudanese embassy in Cairo has recently overseen the implementation of an initiative to evacuate more than 1,200 Sudanese citizens from the city of Alexandria after obstacles hindered their return to their country.

A Sudanese citizen launched an initiative to transport returning Sudanese to their country for a symbolic fee of 8 dollars, and he has already managed to provide 22 buses to transport Sudanese residents in Alexandria back to their homeland.

The Sudanese embassy stated that the buses have already arrived at the departure point; however, financial commitments to the bus owners have not been fulfilled, which led to the halt of the operation and the buses not moving.

The embassy intervened directly and contacted the General Secretariat of the Sudanese Expatriates Affairs Authority, the Defense Industries System, and several businessmen, who responded and took on the full cost of the buses, facilitating the evacuation process and the return of the Sudanese.

Following the successive victories of the Sudanese army and the liberation of some areas, states, and cities, including the capital Khartoum, the routes for Sudanese returning from Egypt to their country have witnessed a significant crisis and severe congestion in recent months.

The Qastal - Ashkit crossing faced congestion that led to a complete paralysis of travel movement, while eyewitnesses reported that the congestion starts from Aswan, due to the inability of the Nile ferries to accommodate the huge number of travel buses, in addition to the influx of thousands of Sudanese wishing to return and the limited number of buses transporting them to their homeland.

In this context, the Sudanese Consul General in Aswan, Ambassador Abdel Qader Mohamed, stated that the Egyptian authorities are making intensive efforts to facilitate the voluntary return of Sudanese families, confirming that return trips from Egypt began more than a year ago, despite the ongoing war, as some families returned on an individual basis due to running out of funds and having ties and interests in Sudan.

He confirmed that the Egyptian authorities facilitated the return of these individuals by exempting returnees from fines and legal accountability, and provided facilities for hosting them at some stations until they reached the Sudanese crossings.

A large number of Sudanese fled to Egypt after the outbreak of the war in April 2023, with unofficial statistics indicating that their number exceeds 1.5 million people, while the Assistant External Relations Officer at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Cairo, Christine Bishay, stated that Egypt hosts 546,746 officially registered Sudanese refugees with the commission, in addition to others awaiting registration.