‘Sudan one of the top transit countries for illegal migrants’: Experts

Experts and specialists have held the Sudanese government responsible for the high rates of illegal migration through the country, accusing it of leniency in law enforcement, and demanding a crack-down on the phenomenon.

At a forum on illegal immigration in Khartoum on Wednesday, informed delegates confirmed that Sudan has become one of the largest receiving and exporting countries for illegal migrants, saying that this results in the spread of new crimes such as human trafficking and smuggling.

The Director of Protection at the Sudanese Refugee Commission, Bilal Ahmed Mousa, said that the number of refugees registered during the past week alone has reached 273, while the total number of registered refugees since 2014 has been about 175,000.

Mousa said that only 10,000 of them are in the camps now.

Clash

Some controversy remains over a clash between paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Border Guards near the Sudan-Libyan border which allegedly left 17 Border Guards dead. The RSF insist they were firing upon human traffickers, which the Border Guards deny.

In August, human trafficking gangs in eastern Sudan freed 22 Eritrean refugees, including three girls, who were kidnapped in mid-August after reportedly receiving a ransom ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 per person.

Deportations

The international community has reacted with concern over Sudan’s reported deportation of Eritrean refugees – more than 100 in August.