What Is the Future for Syrians in Sudan?

Following the outbreak of conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in mid-April 2023, Syrians in Sudan find themselves in a state of confusion and an uncertain future.

The Syrians who arrived in Sudan after 2011, currently numbering 35,000, are preoccupied with securing a new safe haven away from the horrors of the new war they have experienced.

Due to the concentration of battles in Khartoum and the dense presence of Syrians in the city, some of them have been forced to flee outside its borders, while others have become trapped, similar to other Sudanese nationals.

However, approximately 5,000 individuals, including families, have managed to reach the city of Port Sudan, located in the northeastern part of Sudan on the Red Sea.

It has become a major hub for refugees fleeing the flames of war from various nationalities, including some Sudanese citizens.

 

Non-Existent Avenues

Some fleeing Syrians in eastern Sudan are forced to pay $100 per night for accommodation away from the conflict.

The cost of travel from Khartoum to Port Sudan, which is 675 kilometers away from the capital, initially amounted to $320 per person in the early days of the clashes. This is a steep cost for the Syrians residing in Sudan.

Opposition Syrian websites have reported that 15 Syrians have been killed and dozens injured since the start of the conflict.

Many of them have been trapped, as most of them are in areas that have become focal points between the army and the Rapid Support Forces inside Khartoum.

Initially, there were two routes to exit Khartoum to Port Sudan. One route, starting from the east of Khartoum, takes approximately 30 hours and is considered safe.

The other route is shorter through the city of Khartoum Bahri, but it is more dangerous and takes about seven hours.

Mazen Bayat, the executive director of the Committee for Supporting Syrian Families in Sudan, stated that “the situation of Syrians in Sudan is at its worst, especially since options are virtually nonexistent, particularly for those who do not possess valid documents."

Bayat added to Al-Estiklal that “some of these Syrians have the financial means or hold citizenship of another country and have managed to leave Sudan. However, the majority have fled to Port Sudan, awaiting evacuation, while an unknown number remains under shelling with no means or power.”

Bayat noted that “after a lengthy and challenging process, Cham Wings company successfully organized two flights to Damascus, transporting a total of 360 individuals. These passengers were among the more than 5,000 Syrian citizens who found themselves stranded in Port Sudan, anxiously awaiting the promised evacuation.”

He hinted that before the outbreak of clashes in Khartoum, the number of Syrians was around 35,000, some of whom do not possess passports, including many young men of mandatory service age, and some have security issues in Syria.

He also mentioned that “Syrians in Sudan were involved in trade, including craftsmen and artisans, in addition to university students.”

Others among the youth are waiting to fulfill the conditions for paying the mandatory service exemption fees (in their home country), whether they live with their families or independently.

Bayat pointed out that the presence of Syrians is concentrated in Khartoum Bahri, and Omdurman, with fewer numbers in other areas.

“The stranded Syrians fear being relocated to shelters in Suakin along with other foreigners, which would make them refugees facing new hardships after living a relatively normal life and working in professions that meet their basic needs.”

 

Crowding in Port Sudan

The Syrian regime’s embassy has recorded lists of names of those who wish to return to their areas, including pregnant women and their companions.

The embassy has promised to evacuate these individuals free of charge from Port Sudan to Syria, using the private airline, Cham Wings, owned by prominent businessman, Muhammad Issam Shammout, who is close to President Bashar al-Assad.

The first evacuation flight of Cham Wings departed from Port Sudan to Damascus on May 2, 2023.

Additionally, the Assad regime has been promoting what is known as a “visit to Qatar (the country)” through its consulate in Sudan. This visit allows individuals who are subject to mandatory military service to return for a period of six months without being conscripted during their stay in Syria.

Those who have valid residency in one of the Gulf countries have also been registered by Saudi Arabia to assist in their evacuation from Port Sudan, in addition to those who have residency in other countries and wish to travel to them.

However, Riyadh has stipulated that communication with the Syrian regime’s foreign ministry is necessary to approve the evacuation, which has hindered the process according to Syrians sharing information on social media.

In response, some Syrians who have valid documents resorted to writing a pledge that they would leave Saudi Arabia for their country or other countries upon arrival. However, Riyadh rejected this proposal.

One individual present in Port Sudan confirmed that around two thousand Syrians have submitted requests to the Syrian regime’s embassy to be evacuated to Syria, following a state of despair caused by the depletion of funds among some who had fled from Khartoum.

 

Double Tragedy

Amidst this double tragedy, a number of Syrians in the port of Port Sudan have resorted to protests, raising banners to illustrate their dire situation.

The Syrians present in Port Sudan suffer mostly from the lack of nearby asylum countries that could host them.

Saudi Arabia, which is leading large-scale evacuations of foreign nationals from Sudan, has not shown any movement in assisting the Syrians in this matter.

One Syrian, captured in a recorded video from Port Sudan, described the situation, saying: “The Syrian people have been forsaken for 12 years.”

Similarly, the Foreigners Affairs Office in Port Sudan has refused to allow any Syrian to leave unless they possess a valid passport, which is the biggest obstacle faced by those stranded there.

The Sudanese government has considered the residency of these individuals illegal within the country, making them susceptible to being fined at any moment. However, the authorities in Khartoum have not carried out deportation operations against them.

Syrians fear the extension of the conflict to their areas of residence, so they are racing against time like other foreign and Arab nationals to quickly leave Sudan.

Turkish authorities have allowed Syrians fleeing the war in Sudan to enter their territory for a limited period after they were transported alongside a number of Turkish citizens.

Halab Today (Aleppo Today) quoted a source saying that the Turkish government has evacuated a number of Turkish and Syrian families from Sudan to its territory.

Turkiye has also allowed Syrians fleeing the conflict in Sudan to enter Turkish territory and granted them a 15-day visa inside Istanbul Airport, according to the website.

The source explained that the journey from Sudan to Istanbul took four days and was arduous, particularly at the Sudanese-Ethiopian border.

 

New Strangeness

Reuters has reported testimonies from some Syrians present in Port Sudan, including Radwan Wahba who has been residing in Sudan since 2012.

Wahba stated that he is from the city of Zamalka on the outskirts of Damascus and is currently living in tents on the streets of Port Sudan, on the coast of the Red Sea, awaiting safe passage and a fresh start.

According to the source testimony, the war has become an inevitable fate for Syrians, and you cannot imagine the situation for civilians and foreigners alike in Khartoum. Everyone was under indiscriminate shelling, with rockets being launched and no one knowing where they would fall.

Among the tragedies that have occurred is the killing of Syrian citizen Omar Aratah in front of his wife and children by armed individuals in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

According to a post on the Facebook group Syrian Community in Sudan, the incident took place while Aratah, along with his wife, children, and a group of other Syrians in four vehicles, was heading to the city of Atbara north of Khartoum.

The group fell victim to an armed gang that targeted them, demanding their money and possessions. As the attackers tried to search the women to steal from them, Omar bravely confronted the assailants and engaged in a physical altercation.

Tragically, this confrontation led to his untimely demise, transpiring right before the eyes of his wife and children.

This new wave of displacement for Syrians was preceded by an “official crackdown” on them.

Their numbers in Sudan decreased from 300,000 before 2019 to less than 100,000, according to United Nations estimates.

After the end of 2019, following the overthrow of the Omar al-Bashir regime, discussions emerged about obtaining Sudanese citizenship through “corrupt circumvention methods.”

These accusations turned into an official directive from the army commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who issued a decision in 2020 to revoke the citizenship of thousands of naturalized individuals after 2014.

Syrians were among the main victims of this measure, and simultaneously, entry visas were imposed on them for Sudan, closing off the last available external destinations for migration to another country, seeking safety, family reunions, or escaping military service in the ranks of the Assad forces.

Those who remained before the start of the “new Sudanese hell” had moderate investments.

Syrian investors managed to provide 3,000 job opportunities for Sudanese in the textile industry and established around 80 projects in various sectors, with the number of investors reaching about 3,000.