Number of Eritrean refugees soars in eastern Sudan

Number of Eritrean refugees soars in eastern Sudan
248 words
17 January 2008
09:10 am GMT
BBC Monitoring Middle East
English
(c) 2008 The British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. No material may be reproduced except with the express permission of The British Broadcasting Corporation.

Text of report by pro-government Sudanese Media Centre website on 16 January

Khartoum, 16 January: The state of Kassala [eastern Sudan] has revealed that recently there has been a considerable increase in the number of Eritrean refugees coming to the state.

Idris Ali Muhammad, the director of organizations at the National Congress party [NC] in the state of Kassala, said in a statement that the movement of Eritrean and Somali refugees into Sudanese territory has become a problem to the state after their numbers have increased considerably.

He explained that the state receives on a daily basis between 50 to 70 Eritrean and Somali refugees at a monthly rate of 1,600, and that they are mostly young, between the ages of 18 to 20 years old.

Muhammad stressed that the reason that prompted the Eritrean refugees to come to the Sudan, is the drought that struck the region, in addition to the warning signs of a war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

He noted that the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and the competent bodies are working to reconcile their food, legal and medical situation to ensure their safety from within the camp in the state of Kassala.

Muhammad revealed of a comprehensive forum organized by the NC organizations department, which will be held soon to study the situation of the displaced persons.

Source: Sudanese Media Centre website, Khartoum, in Arabic 0000 gmt 16 Jan 08