Southern Sudan govt condamns refugees massacre in Egypt
Jan 1, 2006 (KHARTOOUM) — The government of Southern Sudan has strongly condemned in strongest possible terms the Egyptian government’s massacre of innocent peaceful Sudanese refugees.
In a press statement issued yesterday Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) Vice-President, Riek Machar Teny, explained that the GOSS has learned with great shock and disbelief the tragic incident in Cairo in which the Egyptian Security Forces fired on innocent Sudanese who were peacefully demonstrating in front of the offices of the UNHCR killing more than forty persons and seriously injuring over four hundred others.
The GOSS is greatly shocked by this callous act from the security forces of a friendly and sisterly country that has been known of spearheading the unity of the people of the Nile Valley, and particularly the peoples of Egypt and Sudan.
What happened is, apart from being uncalled for and unjust, breaks every known international law including the UN Human Rights Convention and the fundamental right to life.
In this regard, the GOSS demands explanations from both the Egyptian Government and the UNHCR as to why a peaceful demonstration should have led to these extreme measures of brutality resulting in unnecessary deaths and injuries.
The GOSS is appeals to the UN secretary-general to investigate the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident so as to answer the deep concerns of families and relatives of those killed or injured.
Finally, the GOSS calls upon the government of national unity in Khartoum to intervene and urge the Egyptian government to investigate this incident and stop any further violence against Sudanese refugees in Egypt.
A 4000 strong force of Egypt’s riot police had attacked hundreds of Sudanese families resulting in a death toll of 35 including women and children.
(Khartoum Monitor/ST)