Restrictions and Forced Returns… Kassala Pushes Displaced People Out

Sudan Media Forum - Ayin Network

Kassala, May 2, 2026 (Ayin Network) - Inside a shelter lacking even the most basic necessities in the eastern Sudanese city of Kassala, Marwa Mohammed and her family have spent three years struggling through the daily hardships of displacement. During that time, they lost everything. Despite the harsh reality she currently faces, Marwa now confronts the looming threat of being forcibly returned to her home in the capital, Khartoum, which she fled because of the war.

Marwa - whose name has been change - told Ayin Network that she does not want to return to Khartoum at this time. Her home has been destroyed and looted, leaving her with nowhere to stay. She has also heard about the dire living conditions in the capital, including shortages and the absence of basic services such as drinking water, electricity, and healthcare in some neighborhoods.

Marwa is not alone. Thousands of displaced people in Kassala face the same fate: forced return to the areas they fled in Khartoum, Gezira, and Sennar. According to testimonies collected by Ayin’s correspondent, authorities under the army-led government have begun dismantling several camps and shelters in Kassala as part of a plan aimed at returning all displaced people.

According to these accounts, forced returns have also affected displaced people from Darfur in western Sudan, which remains under the control of the Rapid Support Forces. They are suffering from a sharp decline in official support, increasing harassment, and the suspension of many forms of aid—conditions that are pushing many to leave Kassala for Khartoum and Gezira in central Sudan in search of better circumstances.

A Government Plan

Sudanese authorities have announced a plan to return displaced people and refugees abroad to Khartoum in order to rebuild the capital, about a year after the army regained control of it. However, voluntary returns have remained low due to the extremely difficult living conditions.

Amid mounting pressure on displaced people in Kassala to force them back to Khartoum, Marwa recalls her first displacement under gunfire from Khartoum to Wad Madani, and then again from Wad Madani to Kassala in eastern Sudan—experiences marked by tragedy and hardship that she is still trying to overcome.

Marwa recounted that government authorities forcibly evicted them in a humiliating manner from a school they had been using as a shelter in Kassala. The operation involved threats, violence, and beatings over two days. She then moved to a camp west of Kassala Airport, where she stayed for six months, only to be pursued again by authorities who ordered the camp cleared on the grounds that the land belonged to a private owner and that the government did not want displaced people inside the city.

Forced Evictions

Marwa has continued to move from place to place within Kassala and is currently staying at the “Onion Factory” camp, where she once again faces the threat of forced eviction and possible transfer to Khartoum.

The same fears haunt Ruya Adam—a pseudonym for another displaced woman in Kassala—who is also worried about being forcibly returned to Khartoum amid an ongoing crackdown by authorities. She has been forced to move repeatedly between camps and shelters in the city due to these pressures.

After arriving in Kassala from Gezira State—where she had initially fled from Khartoum—Ruya stayed in a school designated as a shelter. She was then forcibly relocated to the camp west of the airport, which was also later dismantled. She eventually settled in another camp known as “Karama Camp.”

Not long after arriving there, authorities asked her and other residents to register for what they called “voluntary return” to Khartoum.

Ruya said she felt compelled to register despite her circumstances. Her husband is ill, all their belongings were looted, and their home in Khartoum had been rented in the first place. She now has nowhere to return to. “I will go back,” she said, “but I don’t know where I will go—especially with children who need care and stability.”

Ongoing Campaigns

Umm Mohammed, a displaced woman from Nyala in South Darfur now living in Kassala, described her suffering under ongoing government campaigns aimed at clearing camps.

In an interview with Ayin, she said she experienced things she had never seen before—insults, abusive behavior, and harsh treatment by Kassala State authorities, who forced them out to the airport camp and later pursued them there with armed men demanding that they leave.

After repeated harassment, Umm Mohammed moved to the “Onion Factory” shelter. Yet the pressure did not stop. “Every shelter I stayed in was forcibly cleared,” she said. “There was severe violence and constant threats. Soldiers and armed men kept intimidating us.”

She added that several government officials—including representatives from the Zakat Chamber, the prosecution office, and the sports sector—visited the shelter, gathered displaced women, and informed them that they must leave and return to their original areas, claiming the situation had become safe. Those unwilling to return were told to find alternative housing outside official shelters. This was followed by a violent eviction carried out with military vehicles.

As a result of these actions and the closure of the airport camp, many displaced people have been left homeless. Around 55 families have taken refuge at the entrance of the “Onion Factory” camp, while others have moved to the Reiba area at the western entrance of Kassala, where they now live under partially constructed buildings in extremely difficult humanitarian conditions. Their number is estimated at about 156 families, while around 120 families remain in Karama Camp, according to Ayin’s correspondent.

Repeated Displacement

Fatima Adam—another pseudonym—described being displaced three times within Kassala: first from a school to the airport camp, and then shortly before Ramadan to Karama Camp in the Bat neighborhood.

She said Kassala State authorities repeatedly warned that they did not want displaced people from Khartoum in the city and instructed them to register for “voluntary return,” which she described as coercive.

Fatima explained that she does not want to return to Khartoum. Her home was looted and severely damaged by an artillery shell. Her husband now works in informal labor in Kassala, which has given her a relative sense of stability.

She also pointed to the high cost of rebuilding and the lack of job opportunities as major obstacles to returning.

After witnessing the violent dismantling of the airport camp, Fatima feared similar actions at Karama Camp. Concerned for her safety and that of her children, she ultimately decided to return to Khartoum—but emphasized that this was not a voluntary decision.

An Uncertain Fate

From Reiba, another displaced woman—who requested anonymity due to security concerns—spoke about the ongoing suffering caused by government harassment. She cannot return to her home in conflict-ridden Darfur, nor can she afford housing in Khartoum, leaving her with no options.

“We were given a short deadline to evacuate the camp,” she said, noting that students were granted a slightly longer grace period. “We are facing an unknown fate. We don’t have money to rent housing. All food assistance from organizations has been stopped, worsening the humanitarian situation.”

She added that attempts by displaced people to contact the Humanitarian Aid Commission had failed. Authorities also withdrew 20 water tankers that had been supplying drinking water and dismantled tents and shelters using excessive force.

“The commission remained silent in the face of all these violations,” she said.

“We, especially those from Darfur, are facing an uncertain future,” she added. “Some displaced people from other states have already left Kassala under what is called ‘voluntary return.’ But we are among the few who don’t know what will happen to us. We feel lost and uncertain. We are sitting here in the camp, not knowing our fate.”

The same fear is shared by Amani, a displaced woman from El Fasher. “We are deeply worried after being told to evacuate the camp,” she said. “Where are we supposed to go? We fled Darfur because of war. I found safety here and believed Kassala was part of Sudan—so why are we being forced out?”

She added that if the camp is cleared, she may have no choice but to live under a tree.

A volunteer in Kassala confirmed that registration for “voluntary return” lasted for a full month. The first convoys left Kassala for Khartoum on April 13, carrying large numbers of displaced people—many of whom returned under pressure—and the process is ongoing.

• The Sudan Media Forum and its member organizations publish this report, prepared by Ayin Network, to shed light on the conditions of displaced people in Kassala State. The findings indicate that more than 150 families have been locked in a struggle with local authorities, who have taken inhumane measures to dismantle displacement camps, arguing that security has been restored in Khartoum.
  As one displaced woman from Darfur put it:
  “We are facing an unknown future after others left Kassala under what is called voluntary return to safer states.”