Recently, Sudanese journalist Durra Gambo, a recipient of the Africa Editors Forum’s Service to Journalism award in 2025 and a prominent voice for a democratic, civilian-led Sudan, was deported on 16 May 2026 upon arrival from Egypt to Doha, after detaining her for more than 12 hours at Cairo International Airport and denying her entry despite her reportedly obtaining prior security clearance, according to Sudanese media reports and the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate.
🟥🟥 السلطات الأمنية في #مصر تقرر ترحيل الزميلة الصحفية درة قمبو إلى #الدوحة برفقة فرد من الأمن المصري بعد وصولها مطار القاهرة واحتجازها وإخضاع هواتفها للتفتيش لنحو 4 ساعات.
— يوسف النعمة (@YousifAlneima) May 16, 2026
الزميلة درة كانت قادمة من مطار كمبالا وحاصلة على موافقة أمنية من السلطات في مصر، وقد تم إخطارها بعد… pic.twitter.com/jg30vKK2oc
An expansive security campaign targeting refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in Egypt rages on and has been intensifying since the beginning of 2026 with a renewed wave of deportations and mass arrests targeting Sudanese nationals in Egypt.
When the war in Sudan began in 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), over 1 million Sudanese fled to Egypt seeking refuge.
According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 1.2 to 1.5 million people have crossed the border into Egypt since the conflict began. There are 1,099,000 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR Egypt. Sudanese are the largest group with 825,000 formally registered with UNHCR as of late 2025, followed by Syrians. As of early 2026, Egypt hosts an estimated 1.5 million to over 4 million Sudanese nationals, making it the largest host country for those fleeing the 2023 conflict. Over 700,000 are formally registered with UNHCR, with many living in Cairo and Alexandria.
People arriving from Sudan may be entitled to international protection in Egypt as asylum-seekers or refugees under UNHCR Egypt. The country receives international funding and aid to assist with the surge of Sudanese refugees. This support is often channelled through United Nations (UN) agencies, NGOs, and targeted grants rather than directly to the Egyptian government as unrestricted budget support. Most recently, in December 2024, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocated $6 million to bolster the humanitarian response for refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan and seeking protection in Egypt.
However, due to aid cuts, humanitarian agencies can now provide only basic treatment, such as vitamins and essential medicines, as funding for cash assistance and specialised care, including anticoagulants, has been halted. Despite efforts to maintain humanitarian assistance programmes, needs remain overwhelming as international funding for UN agencies has sharply declined. In 2025, UNHCR received less than 40% of its global funding needs, forcing significant and dramatic reductions in support.
According to the independent Sudanese news platform, Radio Dabanga, which heavily reports on the Sudanese refugee crisis in Egypt, Egyptian authorities conduct an average of five to 10 arrests of Sudanese refugees and migrants every day. The campaign includes the arrest of Sudanese residents and refugees with legal status, with some leading to deaths. The Refugee Platform in Egypt (RPE) has documented a “significant increase” in deaths of Sudanese nationals in detention, alleging they are not isolated incidents but a result of harsh, overcrowded conditions.
“Sudanese refugees in Egypt are enduring inhumane conditions at the hands of Egyptian security forces, including those holding UN refugee documents. This comes as Egypt receives billions in funding to host refugees and prevent onward migration to Europe. Recent crackdowns have resulted in the deaths of more than five Sudanese in security custody. I have also previously reported on seven detention centres where Sudanese are held in degrading and inhumane conditions since the war began,” said Sudanese freelance journalist Eiad Husham. His report can be found on Ayin Network.
One of the most horrifying stories is the alleged death of two young Sudanese children, girls aged two and four, from starvation after their mother was arrested by Egyptian authorities in February 2026. The mother was arrested while buying groceries, said to have forgotten her ID at home, but was later arrested and deported back to Sudan. The two children were left alone at a rented apartment for days without food or water. However, this story is yet to be officially confirmed, but has circulated across social media.
Also in February 2026, Al Nazeer Al Sadiq, an 18-year-old Sudanese high school senior, died after 25 days in custody at Badr Police Station in Cairo. His death led to public outcry and condemnation on social media as well as from human rights and refugee organisations such as the Refugee Platform in Egypt (RPE). He was allegedly arrested while out buying bread for his family, despite having legal immigration status. Al Sadiq, who suffered from diabetes was held in reportedly inhumane conditions while his health continued to deteriorate, eventually causing him to die from a hypoglycaemic attack (diabetic coma).
`🚨Another Sudanese refugee has died in police custody in Cairo — this time, an 18-year-old. #KeepEyesOnSudan pic.twitter.com/6NP7NE7c5j
— Eiad Husham (@EyadHisham10) February 12, 2026
Sudanese asylum seeker Mubarak Qamar Al Din Majzoub Abdullah, 67, inside Al Shorouk Police Station in Cairo was found dead on 5 February 2026 after nine days in detention and reportedly suffered from diabetes and kidney failure. Reports allege he was denied proper medical care despite his family delivering medication. His death instigated public outcry and condemnation on social media as well as human rights and refugee organisations, including the RPE and Committee for Justice (CFJ). According to CFJ, Abdullah held a valid refugee card registered with the UNHCR as an asylum seeker, renewed on 28 October 2025, and was not in violation of residency regulations. He had also followed the legal process to renew his previous residency permit and obtained an official appointment receipt for renewal — appointments that now extend for more than a year.
🚨Another Sudanese refugee with UNHCR status dies in Egyptian police custody. @Refugees you owe the Sudanese people an explanation — what are your cards actually worth? #KeepEyesOnSudan https://t.co/mWxIZIekwb pic.twitter.com/LOjzYadriM
— Eiad Husham (@EyadHisham10) March 24, 2026
In March 2026, Rashid Mohamed Abbas died on 23 March 2026, following his detention by Egyptian authorities. At the time, his death marked the sixth recorded case of a Sudanese national dying in Egyptian custody in the past 45 days. Abbas, who leaves behind a child under the age of two, allegedly died as a result of torture sustained while in detention, as reported by Radio Dabanga. However, the circumstances surrounding Abbas’ final moments remain unclear with some sources stating that he died inside a deportation vehicle that was transporting him to Cairo International Airport.
Mujahid Adel Mohamed Ahmed died on 8 August 2025 in the Third October Police Station in Giza, following his arrest for not holding a valid residence permit, despite his family providing documents proving his legal status and chronic illnesses, reported Radio Dabanga.
In addition to heightened risks of detention and deportation due to stricter entry regulations, Sudanese refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in Egypt face various challenges with residency permits, unemployment, rising living costs, accessing basic services, limited medical access and much more.
There have also been reported cases of Egyptians dying in police custody. In early December 2025, Al Shehab Human Rights Centre and the Egyptian Network for Human Rights reported that a 52-year-old Egyptian detainee named Khaled Al Abyad died in Minya Prison due to medical neglect. Al Abyad, who had been imprisoned for more than 12 years, had been denied medical care despite suffering a “severe health crisis”. His family said he did not have any medical conditions before his imprisonment and blamed negligence and poor conditions inside the prison for his death. Al Abyad had been imprisoned since 2013 in connection with the alleged storming of a police station in Helwan.
Al Abyad’s death came less than 24 hours after another Egyptian political prisoner, Ibrahim Ahmed Abdel Rahman, was reported dead. Abdel Rahman was serving a 15-year sentence in the high-security Jamasa prison and was reportedly denied medical care after being diagnosed with cancer.
According to The New Arab, the Adalah Centre for Rights and Freedoms said their deaths are part of a “recurring pattern of systematic medical negligence” in Egyptian detention facilities.
Over one million displaced Sudanese have sought refuge in Egypt, searching for shelter, stability, and a basic sense of safety and security. However, many have instead faced unjust arrests, mistreatment, and deportation, which, tragically, has even led to deaths. In addition, many face discrimination and daily hurdles from both local residents and official personnel. Securing or renewing residency status is a constant struggle, exacerbated by the exorbitant cost of visas that rapidly deplete what little savings these displaced families have left.
Because of their legal status, many are trapped, unable to travel to and from Egypt, cut off from seeing family members and loved ones across the region. At the same time, relatives trying to visit them from the diaspora face immense hurdles securing visas; and while the prices have dropped from a staggering $1,000 to $400, they remain entirely unaffordable for families in crisis.
Since the SAF recaptured major states, including Khartoum and Al Gezira, a reverse migration has begun. Over 1.3 million Sudanese have made the journey back home, the vast majority returning from Egypt. For many, life since the outbreak of the war has been turned completely upside down — a relentless cycle of surviving one crisis only to meet another. They fled violence and death in Sudan, only to find a different kind of hardship, whether in Egypt, Libya, Chad, and South Sudan. For these millions, returning to Sudan is not just a logistical move; it is returning home. It is also the realisation: to struggle or even to die in your own country carries a dignity that cannot be found in the land of strangers.
Ola Diab is the new founder and editor of 500 Words Magazine, and the deputy editor of Marhaba Information Guide, Qatar’s premier information guide. Based in Qatar, the Sudanese journalist graduated from Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and has since built a successful career in the print and digital media industry in Qatar. Find her on X (formerly Twitter) @therealoladiab or on LinkedIn.
