Sudan warns of unspecified measures over mistreatment of citizens in Egypt

November 15, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee in the Sudanese parliament Mohamed Mustafa al-Daw said that Khartoum is awaiting clarifications from Egyptian authorities about the alleged mistreatment of its nationals in Cairo recently by police and security forces.

There were frequent complaints by Sudanese travelers who arrived from Cairo who claimed that they were subjected to street stops by police and even saw their money seized in the process.

The Consul General of Sudan in Cairo Khalid al-Sheikh said that they submitted a memo to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry inquiring about the recent surge of harassment of Sudanese citizens.

The memo pointed that bad treatment by police and national security has recently increased against Sudanese nationals, saying that conduct is unacceptable and inconsistent with the deep ties and agreements signed between the two nations particularly the four-freedoms agreement.

Al-Daw said in remarks on Sunday that the parliament will not hesitate to subpoena the foreign ministry if it turns out that they neglected the matter given their primary responsibility.

He stressed that the media should deal objectively with the situation and not inflate it until facts become clear, especially since Egypt is going through exceptional circumstances because of the internal situation.

The MP warned that all options are on table to preserve the dignity of Sudanese nationals in Egypt.

Sudan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Ali al-Sadiq told reporters on Saturday that the Sudanese embassy in Cairo has clear directives to look after the Sudanese nationals and make sure they are being well treated.

He said they are confident that Egypt’s foreign ministry would investigate the issue, stressing the strong ties between Khartoum and Cairo would enable them to overcome any misunderstanding.

In a related issue, various media outlets reported that 15 Sudanese migrants trying to cross from Egypt into Israel were shot and killed at the border early Sunday.

A senior security official in northern Sinai, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media, told New York Times that the Egyptian border police shot the migrants when they ignored warnings not to cross the border fence. At least eight were wounded, the official said, adding that another eight migrants had been arrested.

But another Egyptian security official said that the Sudanese migrants had been caught in the middle of a shootout between Bedouin smugglers and the Egyptian police, and that they had been killed in the crossfire. And Reuters, citing security sources, said the police had found the migrants’ bodies near the border.

(ST)