Atroun: There are accusations that refugees of Ethiopian, Chadian and South Sudanese nationalities participated in the battles in Sudan (Reuters)
Commissioner for Refugee Affairs in Sudan, Musa Ali Atroun, said that there are accusations of foreign refugees participating in the ongoing battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, but there is no evidence yet of that.
Atroun explained in an interview with the Sudanese News Agency published on its website, “We will not deny the accusation of refugees’ participation in the current war, but we do not have sufficient evidence and information.”
He added that there are accusations of the participation of refugees of Ethiopian, Chadian and South Sudanese nationalities, but "we will investigate the matter to find out whether they are mercenaries or refugees."
He added that he informed the Minister of the Interior and the High Commissioner for Refugees about the matter, indicating that a report in this regard would be published for public opinion in due course.
Regarding the numbers of Sudanese refugees who fled their villages and cities due to the ongoing fighting between the army and the Rapid Support, Atroun said that there are no unified numbers, and each party has information independently.
He explained that at least a million Sudanese took refuge in Chad, between 500 and 700 thousand took refuge in Egypt, while about 100 thousand took refuge in Ethiopia, in addition to refugees in South Sudan.
Atroun indicated that the Commission for Refugee Affairs is making arrangements regarding registering and counting refugees in all of Sudan, and a comprehensive campaign will be announced before the end of 2024.
Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) have been fighting a war that has left more than 13,000 dead and more than 7 million displaced and refugees, according to the United Nations.
Source: Agencies