CAIRO: Egypt has been bracing for refugees fleeing the ongoing conflict n neighbouring Sudan. The humanitarian crisis worsens with each passing day after the country’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Response Forces (RSF) have engaged in a pitched battle in a power struggle.
Egypt has either been an ideal place for refugees or a transit point for further voyages to Europe, according to Arab News.
With violence and fighting engulfing Sudan, Cairo authorities said they were braced for a fresh wave of refugees seeking safety, employment and working health services.
According to a report in the New York Times, over 15,000 Sudanese have fled the Darfur region into neighbouring Chad.
On Sunday, around 436 Egyptians were expatriated from Sudan via land. Ahmed Abu Zeid, a spokesperson for the Egyptian foreign ministry, said evacuations would continue to ensure all Egyptian citizens’ safe and sound return.
Already home to an estimated four million Sudanese, Egypt offers few lucrative jobs.
Due to its geographical closeness and shared history, young Sudanese travel to Egypt inexpensively in search of work, while families seek healthcare and education for their children.
Although there were no publicly available figures to show the recent influx of refugees from Sudan to Egypt, authorities said that the number had risen since 2019, when an internal uprising led to the overthrow of former Sudanese politician Omar Al-Bashir.
According to Naela Gabr, chair of the National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Trafficking, Egypt was home to about 300,000 registered refugees, including Sudanese.
Gabr told Arab News that in addition to the number of registered refugees, about nine million foreigners live in Egypt, of whom around four million were Sudanese and half a million were from South Sudan.
Many have expressed concerns that the influx of refugees may take a toll on Egypt’s ability to absorb these numbers.
In the past, several refugees from the wider region used Egypt and its Mediterranean coast as a transit point for the perilous journey to Europe.
Gabr said that the number of illegal immigrants to Egypt would increase in the coming days, as Egypt was a passage for illegal immigrants, but it has become a stable country due to border control.
If Sudanese displaced by the current conflict begin to arrive in vast numbers, Egyptian authorities might have to consider establishing formal camps to prevent a humanitarian crisis or a security breakdown.
