Sudanese families in Egypt say they have lost contact with relatives in Cairo and Alexandria over the past two days, fuelling fears they may have been caught in security operations aimed at deporting them to Sudan.
Rights activists and community members shared missing-person appeals on social media, including reports of three Sudanese sisters from the same family who disappeared in recent days and a young boy last seen on Sunday in Cairo.
The Sudanese community platform in Egypt also issued a notice seeking help to find the missing boy. Sources within the community confirmed the disappearance of the three sisters, as well as two teenage boys.
Community members link the cases to ongoing police campaigns in Egyptian cities, which include roadside checkpoints where Sudanese are stopped during travel between districts. While such stops are described as routine in Egypt, witnesses say they have heightened anxiety among Sudanese refugees.
Several Sudanese told community sources that possession of a UNHCR asylum-seeker card does not always prevent detention or forced return. Some individuals, they said, were deported to Sudan shortly after being taken into custody.
The reports have drawn criticism from human rights and migration groups. Official Egyptian estimates put the Sudanese refugee population at around 1.5 million, but migration workers believe the real figure is closer to 750,000, underscoring the challenges in managing Sudanese asylum cases in the country.
