Sudan (Somali diaspora)

How many Somalis lived in Sudan?

About 7,000 Somali nationals were in Sudan before the fighting of April 2023, most of them university students, said an official of IOM, the UN migration agency (Africanews, citing AP, 1 May 2023). Others were business people and migrants hoping to reach Europe (same source). Somalia's foreign ministry said most Somalis in Sudan were students and families (Horn Observer, 10 May 2023).

UNHCR counts only refugees and asylum seekers. Its yearly figures for Somalis in Sudan (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder API, Somalia to Sudan):

• 1992 to 1994: 300 refugees each year.
• 2007: 559 refugees and 279 asylum seekers.
• 2013: 753 refugees, the highest count.
• 2023: 422 refugees and 216 asylum seekers.
• 2025: 234 refugees and 163 asylum seekers.

Sudan has been a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention since 22 February 1974 (UN Treaty Collection).

Why did Somali students go to Sudan?

After Somalia's central government collapsed in 1991, Sudan became a main destination for Somali scholars and students, TRT Afrika reported in December 2025 (TRT Afrika, December 2025). It said thousands found education in Khartoum, and named former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as an alumnus of Sudanese universities (same source).

The same report said Sudanese teachers and aid workers worked in Somalia for decades (same source). Somalia's education minister, Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir, recalled that Sudan once hosted thousands of Somali students (same source).

What happened to Somalis when the war began in April 2023?

Fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces began on 15 April 2023 (Anadolu Agency, 24 April 2023). On 19 April Garowe Online reported Somali students trapped in Khartoum and Omdurman, some without power and water for days (Garowe Online, 19 April 2023).

Officials said there were no planes for an immediate evacuation, and spoke of buses to Ethiopia and South Sudan (same source). President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged both sides to negotiate. "Our painful experience in Somalia is that conflicts are easy to start but prove very difficult to end," he said (same source).

How were Somalis evacuated?

Most went overland to Ethiopia, then flew home:

• Late April 2023: the first group, 27 Somalis including four women, crossed into Ethiopia at Metema (Anadolu Agency, 24 April 2023). Somalia's disaster agency, SoDMA, opened 24-hour hotlines for Somalis in Sudan (same source).
• 30 April 2023: 148 Somalis, mostly students, landed in Mogadishu, and 45 of them went on to Garowe (Africanews, citing AP, 1 May 2023). Foreign ministry official Abdurahman Nur Mohamed Diinaari credited IOM's help (same source).
• 9 May 2023: a fourth flight carried 73 people, bringing the total to 242, officials said (Horn Observer, 10 May 2023).

The crossing at Metema was crowded with many nationalities. By mid-May 2023 more than 20,400 people of 66 nationalities had arrived there, IOM reported (IOM Sudan situation update, 16 May 2023). IOM gave 1,696 third-country nationals transport to Addis Ababa, including 412 helped to return home, without a breakdown by nationality (same source).

Evacuations continued later. In a release without a date, Somalia's foreign ministry said IOM helped bring home 14 Somalis from Sudan, seven to Mogadishu and seven to Hargeisa (Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs). See also Ethiopia.

How many Somalis have returned from Sudan?

Sudan was the fifth-largest source of Somali migrant returnees in 2020 to 2024, with 239 people, after Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya and Ethiopia (Somalia National Bureau of Statistics, Migration Statistics Report 2025). The bureau's first edition counted 149 from Sudan in 2020 to 2023 (NBS, Migration Statistics Report 2024).

UNHCR recorded 339 Somali refugees returning home from Sudan between 2001 and 2025, including 130 in 2013 (UNHCR solutions API, Sudan).

Why is Sudan on the route to Libya and Europe?

Many young Somalis bound for Europe have crossed Sudan. Of 21 Somalis the Mixed Migration Centre interviewed in Libya, 20 had come through Sudan, 13 of them through Khartoum (MMC 4Mi snapshot, February 2020). The full route is on Migration routes and Libya.

Do Sudanese now come to Somalia?

Yes, in small numbers. In 2024 Somalia hosted 166 Sudanese refugees and 228 Sudanese asylum seekers, by the count of its refugee agency NCRI (NBS, Migration Statistics Report 2025).

In December 2025 Somalia's government welcomed the first Sudanese students on full scholarships at Somali National University (TRT Afrika, December 2025). An earlier TRT Afrika report said the plan included 30 paid bachelor's degree places (TRT Afrika). See Immigration to Somalia.

Related pages

• Somali diaspora hub
• Ethiopia (Somali diaspora)
• Egypt (Somali diaspora)
• Libya (Somali diaspora)
• Yemen (Somali diaspora)
• Migration routes
• Deportations and returns
• Immigration to Somalia
• Somali refugees by the numbers

Sources

1. Africanews, citing the Associated Press. "Official: 148 Somalis evacuated from Sudan via Ethiopia." 1 May 2023. africanews.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
2. Horn Observer. "Somalia evacuates 73 of its citizens stranded in Sudan on a fourth flight." 10 May 2023. hornobserver.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
3. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, Somalia to Sudan, 1975 to 2025. api.unhcr.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
4. United Nations Treaty Collection. "Convention relating to the Status of Refugees", status of participants. treaties.un.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
5. TRT Afrika. "Somalia awards scholarships to war-affected Sudanese students." December 2025. trtafrika.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
6. Anadolu Agency. "African countries begin evacuating diplomats, citizens from Sudan." 24 April 2023. aa.com.tr. Checked 12 November 2026.
7. Garowe Online. "Somali students trapped in Sudan conflict." 19 April 2023. garoweonline.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
8. International Organization for Migration. "IOM Sudan Situation Update", 16 May 2023. iom.int. Checked 12 November 2026.
9. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Somalia. "Somalia evacuates 14 nationals from Sudan." Undated. web.mfa.gov.so. Checked 12 November 2026.
10. Somalia National Bureau of Statistics. "Migration Statistics Report", second edition, 2025. nbs.gov.so. Checked 12 November 2026.
11. Somalia National Bureau of Statistics. "Migration Statistics Report", first edition, November 2024. nbs.gov.so. Checked 12 November 2026.
12. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, solutions (returns), Somalia from Sudan, 1990 to 2025. api.unhcr.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
13. Mixed Migration Centre. "The role of smugglers in East Africans' mixed migration to Libya via Sudan." 4Mi snapshot, February 2020. mixedmigration.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
14. TRT Afrika. "Somalia offers university scholarships to Sudan students." trtafrika.com. Checked 12 November 2026.