KHARTOUM RETURNEES FIND CAPITAL STILL WITHOUT BASIC SERVICES

More than 2 million displaced residents have returned to Sudan's capital since the army recaptured Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces, but the city remains severely damaged and only partially functional, according to Reuters. The return has accelerated even though basic services remain limited, buildings are damaged and large parts of the capital still lack reliable electricity, water and public administration.

Reuters reported that Khartoum had about 5 million displaced residents after the city became one of the central battlegrounds of Sudan's civil war. More than a year after the army retook the capital, returning families are finding a city that is physically accessible but not ready to receive them, with infrastructure, schools, markets and government offices still struggling to restart.

Electricity remains one of the clearest signs of the slow recovery. Reuters reported that power in Khartoum is operating at about one-third capacity, while Khartoum and Bahri remain exposed to ongoing RSF drone attacks targeting infrastructure. Earlier Reuters reporting said drone attacks by the RSF had cut power across Khartoum state and damaged vital facilities, worsening water-supply disruptions and public-health risks.

The recovery is uneven across the wider capital. Reuters reported that Omdurman, which retained partial army control during the war, has seen more visible reconstruction and reopening than Khartoum and Bahri. In central Khartoum, many streets, public buildings and commercial areas remain damaged, and the University of Khartoum remains in ruins even as students are being required to return.

The pressure on returnees is partly being driven by conditions outside Sudan. Reuters reported that some families returned from Egypt not because Khartoum had recovered, but because refugee conditions abroad had become harder to sustain. That means many returnees are coming back to damaged homes, uncertain work and weak services rather than to restored normal life.

Public workers are also under pressure. Reuters reported that civil servants and teachers are often unpaid, limiting the government's ability to restore schools, offices and services at the pace residents need. The problem reflects a wider state-capacity crisis in Sudan, where the war has damaged revenue collection, administration and basic public infrastructure.

Businesses face a similar bind. Reuters reported that small business owners in Khartoum's Souq al-Arabi market are being pushed to reopen even without electricity and other essentials, while tax collection has resumed. The state says some postponements are available, but business owners have criticized being asked to pay when conditions remain unstable and services are incomplete.

The return to Khartoum is therefore not a simple postwar recovery story. It is a test of whether a capital city can restart while the national war continues, infrastructure remains vulnerable to drone attacks and public institutions lack the money and security needed to rebuild.

The immediate questions are whether power can be restored beyond current levels, whether unpaid workers return to stable service, whether drone attacks on infrastructure continue and whether the government can support returnees without forcing premature reopening of unsafe or unserved districts. Until those conditions improve, Khartoum's return will remain a fragile movement back into a capital that is still only partly functioning.

Fact-check date: 11 July 2026
Article type: News
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press, rights groups reporting cited by AP