UN: 300 Sudanese Arriving in Egypt Daily
Agencies – Sudan Events
About 300 Sudanese refugees arrive in Egypt daily, a United Nations official said, adding that 45% of the refugees are Sudanese.
“In the latest crisis in Sudan, we received above 300,000 families. The Egyptian Red Crescent was there from the first early moments, helping people to cross the border safely and transporting them to the different locations in Egypt,” Elena Panova, UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt said during the interview.
“Sudanese in Egypt are not clustered into camps, but they live throughout the country,” she added.
Panova said the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, allocated special funds from the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) to enable them scale up the response quickly after the first refugees started arriving in Egypt.
“On the route the migrants [are traveling], we installed water and sanitation facilities, mainly by UNICEF, simple things like toilets. WFP provided food, cash assistance to 270,000 of the new arrivals,” she stated.
“We also work closely with the Government to understand what the needs are for more long-term resilient support when it comes to livelihoods and specifically talking about education and health services,” stressed Panova.
According to the official, service centres have been established at entry points.
“We provide humanitarian relief services, hygiene kits, food and essential supplies, issue papers for those without identification, and psychosocial support for children and women,” she remarked.
A 10-month war in Sudan between its armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the country’s infrastructure, prompted warnings of famine and displaced millions of people inside and outside the country.
Last week, UN appealed to countries not to forget the civilians caught up in the war in Sudan, calling for $4.1bn to meet their humanitarian needs and support those who have fled to neighbouring countries.
Half of Sudan’s population or 25 million people, need humanitarian assistance and protection, while more than 1.5 million people have fled to the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan, according to the UN.
On the ground, Activists in Sudan have accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of killing at least six civilians and injuring ten others in two separate attacks on a village in Al-Jazirah state.
These incidents reportedly occurred during a period of nationwide communication and internet outages.
According to the Resistance Committees of Al-Hasahisa, located north of the state capital Wad Madani, the RSF targeted the village of Wad Al-Balila with the intent to loot and steal. When confronted by villagers, the RSF allegedly killed two civilians on Saturday and returned the following day, killing four more and wounding over ten others.
The injured were reportedly transported to Al-Manaqil in West Gezira state for medical treatment.
The Resistance Committees further claim that women and children were forced to flee the village after experiencing two days of violence and intimidation.
Sudan has been plagued by widespread communication and internet disruptions since mid-December 2023, with accusations directed towards the RSF for halting telecommunication services in Khartoum.
