Sudanese embassy in Cairo closed after raid by angry nationals

Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to temporarily close the Sudanese embassy in Cairo after a group of Sudanese stormed the embassy building.

The Sudanese nationals claim they were left stranded in Egypt, after Sudan closed its borders in mid-March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).

In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that about a hundred Sudanese gathered in front of its embassy in Cairo that morning. They broke the outer doors, entered the building, and tried to torch the offices for the second time in two days.

“In light of this, the Acting Chargé d'Affaires, the technical attaché and the military attaché contacted the security authorities to inform them of the matter and requested additional security reinforcements,” the statement reads.

After Egyptian army forces appeared, the protesters left the embassy. The police arrested eight Sudanese for not complying with the instructions to leave the building.

According to the embassy, “the majority of those who committed this heinous and deplorable act are not stranded, but people residing in Cairo. Some of them do not even have travel tickets or passports, which confirms that they are not stranded.

“Others are asylum seekers. They do not meet the conditions for benefiting from the funds provided by the Sudanese government. Support is limited to those who are stranded.”

Chargé d'Affairs Khalid Ibrahim explained that a number of unemployed Sudanese in Egypt tried to take advantage of the circumstances, and want to be treated like the people who were really stranded. When they began to attack the embassy, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs took a decision to close the embassy building, provided that the embassy staff continues to perform their duties until the crisis is resolved.

The Chargé d'Affairs affirmed the embassy’s efforts to address the matter of the about 1,200 Sudanese stranded at El Sebaya, near Aswan in the south of Egypt.

The diplomatic mission made the necessary arrangements to evacuate them to Aswan. Apartments were rented there to house them, but the Egyptian authorities considered that it was better to transfer them to Cairo.

During the past couple of days, the embassy received them in the Egyptian capital, provided them with housing, and financial and material support..

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