New figures indicate that roughly 7,000 Sudanese nationals are currently being held in Egyptian prisons, many under harsh conditions despite holding valid residency permits or documentation issued by the UN refugee agency, according to rights activists.
Human rights groups say the detainees include Sudanese refugees who fled the ongoing conflict in Sudan but were later arrested during security operations in Cairo and other Egyptian cities.
Activists claim that conditions inside the prisons are extremely difficult, with limited access to medical care and reports of mistreatment. They allege that between three and four Sudanese detainees die each week due to violence or neglect inside detention facilities.
Most of those detained reportedly possessed legal residency status or documentation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), raising concerns among advocacy groups about the legality of the arrests and detentions.
Egyptian sources cited by activists have suggested that the security campaigns targeting Sudanese nationals in Cairo were carried out in response to requests from Sudanese authorities aligned with Sudan’s SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the administration in Port Sudan.
According to these reports, the operations are aimed at pressuring Sudanese refugees to return to Sudan despite the continuing conflict and humanitarian crisis in the country.
Rights organizations have called for investigations into the detentions and for improved protection of Sudanese refugees in Egypt, warning that the situation could worsen as more people flee the war in Sudan.
