Sudan forces 74 Eritrean refugees to return home

Sudan is forcing Eritrean refugees to return to their home country, the United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday, warning that their lives and liberty were at risk. At least 74 Eritrean asylum seekers have been forcibly removed from Sudan and were sent back home on Monday, according to the UNHCR. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the refugees were sent through the eastern Laffa border crossing point. The UNHCR said it is deeply concerned over recent forced returns of Eritreans and other asylum seekers and refugees from Sudan. Such deportations, ‘refoulement’, are a serious violation of both an international refugee convention and a Sudanese asylum act, the agency’s spokesman said. “We remind the government of Sudan of its obligations under international and Sudanese law. We urge the authorities to provide all asylum seekers immediate access to asylum procedures and protection from refoulement,” Melissa Fleming added. While Sudan has sent Eritreans back in the past, the size of the group and the fact that they were forced to return right after crossing into Sudan marked a new trend, she said. The UNHCR believes that the forced returns are linked to a new act by the government, requiring foreign nationals to legalise their residency. According to UN figures, some 4,000 Eritreans flee the country every month to escape brutal government repression.There are more than 160,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Sudan, mainly from Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and South Sudan. File photo: A group of Eritrean refugees (UNHCR) Related: 9 Sudanese migrants die, 300 rescued in Libya desert (1 May 2014)