Around 100 refugees infiltrate eastern Sudan on daily basis

January 18, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — Around one hundred refugees from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia infiltrate Sudan every day through the eastern border, said a Sudanese official on Sunday.

Last month the Africa Bureau Director of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said East African refugees are flocking into eastern Sudan at the rate of 1,800 each month.

Eastern Sudan is one of the oldest refugee situations in UNHCR’s history. The international refugee agency has been in this country working in the eastern region for 40 years.

The number of infiltrators in the eastern Sudan hit until December 2009 about 2831 people at the daily average between 80 to 100 refugees, said Balal Ahmed Moussa, the deputy refugees commissioner in eastern Sudan.

Balal further said authorities examined the situation of some 593 infiltrators. He pointed out that the flow of Eritrean, Ethiopian and Somali refugees continues to be intensive particularly in the states of Kassala and Gadref.
Over 66,000 registered Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees live in eastern Sudan. Another 57,000 refugees, mainly Eritrean live outside the camps operated by the UNHCR office

Thousands of people from Eritrea, which gained independence in 1993, have fled, citing political persecution and unemployment. Many go to Sudan and then attempt to leave for Europe to search for jobs, human rights groups say.

Balal said registered refugees are hosted at the Shagarab refugee camp. He further called on the international community especially the UNHCR and aid groups to provide the humanitarian assistance necessary for the stability of the refugee camps.

(ST)