BAHR el-Din Yakoub fled Sudan after a missile tore through his home in Khartoum, killing four of his friends.
Hoping to find safety, he headed north to Egypt. But after a year of economic hardship, rising hostility and a crackdown on undocumented migrants, he gave up.
Yakoub followed dangerous smuggling routes into Libya and then took a dinghy across rough seas to Crete.
“I was afraid of getting arrested and being sent back to Sudan, so I went to Libya,” said the 25-year-old.
“But I found the situation there much worse. We were exhausted by all that we endured. Either we cross or die.”
Yakoub is one of a growing number of Sudanese refugees leaving Egypt for Libya – and, increasingly, Europe – rather than returning to a country still engulfed in a brutal civil war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in April 2023.
More than four million Sudanese have fled to neighbouring countries. Egypt has taken in 1.5 million, but conditions for refugees have worsened significantly, pushing many to attempt new – and more dangerous – journeys.
A Reuters investigation based on interviews with 32 Sudanese migrants and corroborated by aid workers, smugglers and activists found that a steady flow of Sudanese are leaving Egypt to seek safer futures further north.
While Sudanese have long crossed directly into Libya from Sudan, the route from Egypt via the shared border is a newer and growing trend.
According to Major-General Ibrahim Al-Arbd, who heads Libya’s Department to Combat Illegal Migration in al-Butnan district, between 20,000 and 25,000 Sudanese crossed from Egypt since the conflict began.
He said many had refugee status in Egypt but struggled to survive there. As summer approaches, he expects up to 250 Sudanese a week to make the crossing.
No shelter in Egypt
Initially, Egypt allowed most Sudanese to enter without visas, but after a surge in arrivals, restrictions were tightened.
Refugees and lawyers say securing residency became nearly impossible, requiring a US$1,000 deposit many could not afford.
Those without papers were at risk of detention or deportation.
In 2024, Egypt passed a new asylum law, removing registration powers from the UN refugee agency and placing them under government control – a move rights groups say stripped thousands of legal protection.
“There was no way I could stay,” Yakoub said, recalling his time sleeping rough in Cairo and working low-paid jobs without documents.
Mohamed Lotfy, director of the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, said the new law triggered widespread insecurity and emboldened police.
His organisation documented dozens of cases where UNHCR documents were confiscated before deportations.
Two Egyptian security sources said nearly 21,000 Sudanese were deported between the start of the war and March 2025.
Egypt’s government denies targeting Sudanese migrants.
Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Minister Mahmoud Fawzi said no deportations were carried out against people who followed the law and insisted Sudanese received their rights.
Europe-bound
For many like Yakoub, the journey through Libya was no escape.
Migrants have long faced abuse, extortion and torture in Libya – often from militias or authorities linked to detention centres.
A UN investigation last year found evidence of crimes against humanity committed against migrants in some of these facilities.
Still, with no alternative, many take to the sea.
In the first five months of 2025, the number of Sudanese arriving in Europe rose 134% compared to the same period last year, even as total migrant arrivals dropped.
Sudanese now rank among the top three nationalities using the Eastern Mediterranean route from Libya to Greece, according to Frontex, the EU’s border agency.
Yakoub said his boat carried about 50 people, mostly Sudanese.
“The sea was rough and it was a very difficult trip,” he said from a migrant camp outside Athens.
“But I’m relieved to be safe and to think about the future. If Greece offers me safety and stability, I will stay.”
Migration politics
The growing exodus comes amid rising European pressure on Egypt to curb migrant flows.
In March, the EU announced a €7.4bil aid package to support Egypt’s struggling economy and border controls.
Human rights groups warn that Europe is overlooking abuses in Egypt in exchange for migration cooperation.
“They are really using the migration card to get money from the EU,” said Tineke Strik, a European Parliament member who met Fawzi in December.
An internal EU report seen by Reuters stated that about 1.5 million of the nine million migrants Egypt hosts are in vulnerable situations.
It said most lack access to social protections and have become food insecure – a key factor behind onward migration.
Egyptian officials insist their country has shown “generosity” despite economic pressures, and deny widespread deportations or discrimination.
But Yakoub’s experience tells a different story – one of repeated displacement, crumbling protections and narrowing choices.
“We were running from war, but everywhere we went, it felt like we were still running,” he said. — Reuters
