Sudan

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday called on civilians fleeing Sudan to allow them to enter their borders and not send them back to the conflict-torn country.

“We are advising governments not to repatriate people because of the conflict in Sudan,” UNHCR’s international protection director Elizabeth Tan told reporters in Geneva.

“This applies to Sudanese nationals and foreigners staying in Sudan, including refugees, stateless persons and those without a passport or any form of identity document,” Tan added.

According to the United Nations, the conflict in Sudan has forced about 100,000 people to flee to neighboring countries and disrupted aid delivery in a country where a third of the population already relies on humanitarian aid.

Tan said there was no indication that civilians from Sudan were not allowed to enter neighboring countries.

Civilians traveling from Sudan to Egypt

Regarding fleeing civilians, Tan said, “Fleeing people will require a high level of international protection.”

Today, the latest figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs show that more than 56,000 people have fled the conflict in Sudan as of May 4.

The UNHCR office in Egypt said on Twitter that at least 52,500 Sudanese and 3,950 other nationals entered the country from the Arkin and Kastel crossings.

Sudan has seen violent clashes between military forces and Rapid Support Forces since the middle of last month, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries, during which the two sides have declared more than one ceasefire but have exchanged accusations that they have violated it.

Yesterday, Thursday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees expected 860,000 people to fly from Sudan, including 580,000 Sudanese, noting that Egypt and South Sudan would see the largest influx of refugees from Sudan.

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