Sudan to host 1800 Palestinian refugees
October 7, 2007 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese cabinet welcomed today the hosting of 1800 Palestinian refugees in the country.
The Council of Ministers chaired by president Omer al-Bashir on Sunday welcomed the hosting of 400 Palestinian families – including some 1800 persons- stuck on the Iraqi borders with Syria and Lebanon.
Palestinians in Iraq have come under increasing pressure to leave since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Over 19,000 Palestinians have fled since that time.
A Palestinian delegation headed by chairman of the group of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in the Legislative Assembly, Azam Al-Ahmed, asked Sudanese president at the of last August to receive these Palestinian expulsed from Irak for their support of the former president Saddam Hussein.
The refugees will be hosted by Khartoum and Northern states. The two states expressed their willingness to host these Palestinians.
Sudan had received Palestinian refugees during the regime of the former president Neimeri in the eighties. They were hosted in Northern state.
The UNHCR estimates about 34,000 Palestinians currently live in Iraq. Between 200 and 300 have been killed since the US-led invasion in 2003.
(ST)