The government of Khartoum State, Sudan, has begun deporting refugees to three states located on the country’s borders as part of its efforts to remove all foreigners from the state.
The Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported on Thursday that “the authorities in Khartoum State have started registering refugees in preparation for their deportation after confirming the participation of foreigners, especially from South Sudan and Ethiopia, in fighting alongside the Rapid Support Forces during their control of the state.”
The agency quoted Khartoum State Governor Ahmed Othman Hamza as saying that his government has begun implementing the first phase of the program to deport foreigners and refugees from the capital, Khartoum, to camps in border areas such as White Nile, Gedaref, and Kassala states.
Hamza indicated that “the first convoy of deported refugees includes numbers of Ethiopian refugees residing illegally in Khartoum State,” noting that more than 16,000 refugees have been identified and will be relocated to the camps.
He stressed the continuation of efforts to regulate the presence of foreigners in Khartoum State and the deportation to camps in Kassala, Gedaref, and White Nile states, urging refugees to remain in their camps until their situations are resolved.
The governor also highlighted “the importance of regularizing the status of refugees, controlling the foreign presence in the capital Khartoum, and enforcing migration laws and regulations by gathering refugees in designated camps supervised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).”
Meanwhile, Al-Sadiq Suleiman Yaqoub, Assistant Commissioner for Refugees in Khartoum and the northern states, explained that “the first deportation operation included 200 Ethiopian nationals, who will be transported by land to the Atinina and Um Gargour camps in Gedaref State.”
He pointed out that there are more than 50,000 refugees of various nationalities residing in Khartoum State.
