Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy has learned that the Egyptian government has underreported the number of Sudanese refugees killed by Egyptian authorities, and that Egypt continues to perpetrate human rights abuses against Sudanese civilians. Damanga calls upon the United Nations office in Cairo, as well as the greater international community, to intervene on behalf of the embattled refugees.

The atrocities committed in Egypt against Sudanese refugees have proved much greater than previously understood. Though Egypt has reported killing 27 Sudanese civilians in December, Damanga has received information from various refugee sources claiming that Egyptian authorities actually have killed more than 100 refugees. Several of these additional killings took place inside Egyptian detention facilities, with some victims of the December attacks succumbing to their wounds and dying in hospitals. Moreover, Damanga has learned that Egyptian authorities tortured detained Sudanese refugees, and several refugees are still unaccounted for.

Egyptian authorities arrested or detained a number of surviving refugees, holding them in army and police camps near Cairo. Most have since been released, though dozens remain missing. Damanga's sources report that when releasing refugees, the Egyptian government has released them one by one, breaking apart families and individually transporting refugees to locations far away from their homes, leaving them without the means to return home or contact their relatives. Moreover, these refugees are often without their United Nations identification documents and passports, having lost their belongings in December when the government initially attacked them. Egyptian authorities routinely confiscated identification papers, cellular telephones, watches, and cameras after beating the captive refugees. The Egyptian government has not returned these items, nor have they permitted the refugees to legally request return of their vital documents and other stolen property.

Egyptian security services have warned leaders of refugee demonstrations to refrain from mentioning the Egyptian government and its human rights violations on penalty of severe punishment. These threatened refugees are living in fear and require protection, as do all Sudanese refugees. Refugees who have reported this information to Damanga are reluctant to supply their names in fear of retribution in light of the warnings of the Egyptian government. It is imperative that the United Nations and the international community investigate these events and hold the responsible parties to account. Such human rights violators must not escape responsibility for their crimes.

In addition, Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy has learned that Egyptian authorities are denying access to Sudanese refugees seeking to identify and claim their deceased relatives from hospital morgues. Authorities have permitted access only in exchange for further names and personal details as well as an agreement by refugees to transport and bury their dead quietly, without asserting their legal right to an investigation. Those refugees who decline to forfeit their rights in such a manner are not permitted to claim the bodies of their loved ones. Several refugees have had to refuse this arrangement, declining to furnish their names and other sensitive information or to surrender their legal rights in exchange and have thus been denied access to their deceased relatives.

The United Nations office in Cairo bears some responsibility for the Egyptian authority's actions due to its failure to take sensible measures to protect vulnerable civilians inside of Egypt. Refugee sources report that, even following the December killings the UN office has acted far too slowly in replacing refugees' lost UN identification documents. Damanga's sources report that the need for protection and redress of human rights violations is urgent, and the UN office has failed to accelerate their processes. In light of these deficiencies, the UN office cannot escape its share of blame for the actions of the Egyptian government.

Surviving refugees who are currently in transit report living in constant fear for their lives, as they continue to face harsh treatment and invasive interrogation. Refugees who are still in the Cairo area routinely suffer maltreatment at the hands of police and are unable to live in safety and security.

Damanga urges the international community to act immediately to protect the Sudanese refugees. First, the refugees must be permitted to leave Egypt. To that end, the UN office must work quickly to provide documents and assistance. Second, it is vital that the UN send a special envoy to Egypt to investigate the murders of refugees. Such international intervention is essential to the safety of Sudanese civilians in Egypt.