Alagaya Camp in Sudan's White Nile State. (-)

An advocacy organization appeals to the South Sudan government to work with international partners to facilitate a safe return of South Sudanese citizens trapped in war-torn Sudan.

The Citizens Call-Emergency Response Rehabilitation Initiative, a non-profit organization, made the suggestion amid deteriorating security situation in Sudan and the risk it poses to thousands of refugees.

Though hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese have since poured home across the border and initial evacuation efforts were made in 2023, many citizens remain stranded due to logistical and financial constraints.

Meanwhile, Akoch Akuei, a representative of The Citizens Call-ERRI, urged the government to work closely with the United Nations to ensure that those fleeing conflict travel safely and with dignity.

“We are here again to call on the government of South Sudan and international community to look into the situation of South Sudanese who are trapped in Sudan,” he said.

In January 2025, diplomatic officials from Sudan and South Sudan agreed to facilitate the voluntary return of citizens from both countries.

This followed reports of violence targeting South Sudanese refugees in Wad Madani of Al Jazira State, and the subsequent looting and violence against Sudanese refugees in South Sudan.

As part of this arrangement, the Sudanese government successfully repatriated more than 700 Sudanese nationals through Juba International Airport to Port Sudan in the past week.

“We are asking for the safe corridor, asking the warring parties to allow South Sudanese to stay in the Safe corridor instead of them being a target of the aggression.”

“We have seen already the Sudanese government evacuating their people. Since Tuesday this week up to today, they are picking up their people. Three flight a day. What about South Sudan? We can do the same thing.”