CAIRO: The government will not deport Sudanese detainees lacking official status as asylum seekers or refugees, according to an official at the foreign affairs ministry. "Now that the [UN refugee agency] UNHCR has completed its assessment interviews, it's been decided that none of the remaining detainees will be deported back to Sudan, said Nasser Al-Hamzawi, an official at the ministry's African Affairs department. Some 183 Sudanese have remained in detention since late December following mass arrests after a three-month sit-in protest in the capital, Cairo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier stated that the deportation of 654 detained Sudanese was imminent. Up to 3,000 refugees, asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers participated in the December protest outside UNHCR offices, which came to a violent end on Dec. 29 when it was broken up by Egyptian security forces. The demonstrators' chief demand had been resettlement in a third country. Twenty-seven Sudanese were killed in the melee and some 2,500 detained. More than 1,500 refugees and asylum seekers were quickly freed, however, once documentation proved they were registered with the UNHCR. Since then, most of the remaining protestors have been released. Throughout January, UNHCR representatives have been visiting three detention centers where protesters remain held to carry out assessment interviews. Difficulties were compounded by the fact that many who participated in the protest lost their documentation on the night of the clashes. Astrid van Genderen Stort, spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Cairo, said that 14 of the remaining detainees were found to have been previously registered with the refugee agency and should be released immediately. Al-Hamzawy did not say when they would be freed. The rest of the detainees are ineligible for international refugee protection under the agency s mandate. "However, we have reiterated our recommendation to the government that no one should be deported, said van Genderen Stort. According to Al-Hamzawy, the government is now taking steps to grant legal status to those who are ineligible for international protection. "Most likely, they will be issued with new visas, he said. It is estimated that between two and five million Sudanese nationals currently reside in Egypt, many of whom have dual nationality. Egypt and Sudan were officially one country until 1956. UNHCR-Cairo normally provides basic assistance to over 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers, including Sudanese, Somalis, Eritreans and Ethiopians. IRIN
