South Sudan urges Egypt to relocate consulate to Khartoum

Jan 6, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — In an emergency meeting yesterday chaired by the government of southern Sudan president (GOSS), Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit, the cabinet discussed the ugly incidents in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday 30 December, where innocent Sudanese were brutally massacred by Egyptian security forces .

The cabinet condemned the massacre in the strongest terms and resolved to form a ministerial sub-committee to persuade Sudanese refugees in Egypt to return home because peace now prevails in the country.

The sub committee is expected to register the disappointment of the south Sudan people and the GOSS to the government of Egypt and the UNHCR over the manner in which innocent Sudanese refugees were cruelly butchered in Cairo, and to establish the exact number, identity and names of those killed in the incident .

It was also resolved that the GOSS should prepare for the return of the estimated 30000 Sudanese refugees currently resident in Egypt.

In this regard, the GOSS should solicit support from international organizations for the repatriation and resettlement of these refugees in southern Sudan.

GOSS is also asking the Egyptian consulate in Juba and Egyptian nationals resident in southern Sudan to leave immediately and relocate to Khartoum for security precautions .

The GOSS shall closely work with the Government of National Unity to monitor the implementation of these resolutions and prevent any further violence against Sudanese refugees in Egypt, and seek international investigation into the causes of the incident.

(Khartoum Monitor/ST)