Israel to deport Darfur refugees: Egyptian official

RAFAH, Egypt, Aug 21 (AFP) — Israeli officials intend to deport three Sudanese refugees who were arrested and detained after entering the country illegally from Egypt, an Egyptian official said Saturday.

The official said that three Egyptians were also among the group currently being held at an Israeli detention center.

He added that the Israelis were coordinating the deportation of the six men with the Egyptian side.

The men, according to the Egyptian official, crossed into Israel between June and August in search of employment.

Israeli media reported August 15 that seven refugees from Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region were being held in an Israeli prison after a marathon trek which took them across Egypt before being picked up in the southern Negev desert.

The Sudanese inmates said that they were delighted to have made it to Israel, despite their detention in the military-run Ketziot prison.

Five of the prisoners were said to have arrived in Israel some two months ago while the other two were picked up in early August.

A prison official said the authorities were looking into sending the seven back to Egypt, which should have been their first port of call for an asylum request.

Sudan’s armed forces and their Arab militia allies cracked down on black African tribal groups in Darfur following an uprising in February 2003, forcing 1.2 million people from their homes and up to 200,000 into makeshift camps in neighboring Chad, the UN says.

The conflict has claimed up to 50,000 lives since early last year.