Sudanese refugees in Cairo protest against racism, delayed aid

Hundreds of Sudanese refugees staged a sit-in in front of the office of the UN refugees agency (UNHCR) in the Egyptian capital on Sunday.

The sit-in was the latest action of a series of protests staged last week against the deterioration of the security situation in the districts the refugees are living in.

“Many Sudanese refugees live in Osman Housing and El Hai El Asher in Six October city near Cairo,” Ahmed Mahmoud, spokesman for the Sudanese Refugees Committee told Radio Dabanga. “They repeatedly suffer from racist assaults and insults by the Egyptian population in these districts.

“The refugees are not receiving any humanitarian support. The relocation promised to us has been postponed. Many files of new refugees have not been completed until today.”

Mahmoud said that the UNHCR has not offered any assistance so far. He appealed the refugee agency to speed up the provision of aid, the completion of the relocation and the files, and provide a special camp for Sudanese refugees in Cairo.