With Sudan’s conflict now at the 100-day mark, advocacy groups are calling on Sudan’s neighbor Egypt to ease entry requirements for refugees, saying displaced Sudanese face a dire situation.
The Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, have been fighting each other since April 15, triggering a humanitarian crisis inside Sudan and neighboring countries.
The U.S. State Department said it stands ready to reconvene formal talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to end the fighting — but only if the warring parties demonstrate their commitment to uphold a May 11 Jeddah Declaration to protect Sudanese civilians and subsequent cease-fires.
The Jeddah talks refer to the U.S.-Saudi-mediated negotiations that started in early May with the goal of stopping the armed conflicts in Sudan. The United States adjourned the talks on June 21 as senior officials acknowledged, “The format is not succeeding.”
An estimated 3 million Sudanese have been displaced by the fighting, almost 2.5 million internally. The rest have fled to surrounding countries. At least 250,000 people have sought refuge in Egypt, and another 120,000 are stuck on Sudan’s side of the border awaiting entry, according to a report that advocacy organization Refugees International released on Monday.
“Instead of facilitating their entry, Egypt disregards refugee law and the Four Freedoms Agreement it signed with Sudan and has erected various entry barriers,” said Abdullahi Halakhe, Refugees International’s senior advocate for East and Southern Africa.
The Four Freedoms Agreement, signed in August 2004 between Egypt and Sudan, covers matters related to freedom of movement along with working, property ownership and living arrangements.
Halakhe cited new regulations by Egypt on June 10 requiring all Sudanese citizens to obtain visas from the Egyptian consular office in Wadi Halfa or Port Sudan before crossing the border. Previously, women, children, and elderly members of families were allowed to enter Egypt without a visa.
Egyptian authorities said the move was to counter the forgery of visas and better manage Sudanese refugees’ entry into Egypt.
Refugees International called on Egypt “to lift requirements currently in place for Sudanese seeking entry, waive requirements for those who remain in Egypt, and expedite granting refugee status to those who wish to have it.”
The Egyptian Embassy in the United States has not responded to VOA’s request for comment.
Sudan’s warring parties continue to violate cease-fires as diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict through negotiations have not yielded fruit. More Sudanese are predicted to flee to neighboring countries for their safety.
“The SAF and RSF have not observed their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration, which played a large part in our decision to adjourn the talks in Jeddah,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA.
“We are continuing to closely monitor the conflict and any violations of the Jeddah Declaration throughout Sudan,” said the spokesperson.
Monday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called for an end to the fighting in Sudan amid serious concerns about the rapidly escalating numbers of displaced people.
“These figures are staggering; civilians who have nothing to do with this conflict are sadly uprooted from their homes and livelihoods on a daily basis,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
“This has to stop. It is time for all parties to this conflict to immediately end this tragic war. Pending this much needed peaceful dialogue, people must be allowed to leave conflict areas to find safety, whether within or outside the country, and be protected from all forms of violence.”
