# Deportation of Eritreans during the Sudanese civil war (2023–present)

The deportation of Eritreans from Sudan (Tigrinya: ኣብ ሱዳን ኣብ እተገብረ ውግእ ኤርትራስ ካብ ሱዳን ምጥራዝ; Arabic: ترحيل الإريتريين من السودان خلال نزاع السودان) is the ongoing forced transfer of nearly an estimated 3,500 Eritreans and Sudanese-Eritreans from Sudan mainly at the border between both countries in the war in Sudan. On 7 May 2023, reports by The Guardian were released stating that hundreds of Eritreans had been taken away from their refugee camps near the Eritrean-Sudanese border. Several of the citizens being deported were reported to be Eritrean men who had fled the Eritrean army after being conscripted. Several women were also reported to be arrested.
During conflicts, such as the series of Eritrean-Ethiopian clashes since Eritrea's invasion of Ethiopia in 1998, a significant number of migrants from Eritrea sought refuge in Sudan for safety. As a result, Sudan has accumulated a population of around 126,000 Eritrean migrants and Sudanese-Eritreans, with over 75,000 in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

## Background

By the end of 1993, shortly after Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia, Eritrea charged Sudan with supporting the activities of Eritrean Islamic Jihad, which carried out attacks against the Eritrean government. Eritrea broke relations with Sudan at the end of 1994, became a strong supporter of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and permitted the opposition National Democratic Alliance to locate its headquarters in the former Sudan embassy in Asmara. At the urging of the United States, Ethiopia and Eritrea joined Uganda in the so-called Front Line States strategy, which was designed to put military pressure on the Sudanese government.
Eritrea's surprise May 1998 invasion of the Ethiopian-administered border village of Badme dramatically changed the political situation in the region. Operating on the axiom that the “enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Sudan closed its border with Eritrea in 2002, and the Sudanese foreign minister charged in February 2003 that Eritrea had amassed forces along the border with Sudan. The Sudanese government also accused Eritrea of supporting rebel groups in Darfur. The undemarcated border with Sudan also posed a problem for Eritrean external relations.

### Migrant crisis

On 6 May 1998, border clashes erupted between Ethiopia and Eritrea, killing several Eritrean officials near the then-disputed town of Badme. A large Eritrean mechanised force entered the town, and a firefight broke out between the Eritrean soldiers and the Tigrayan militia and security police they encountered. According to a 2005 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, Eritrea triggered the war by invading Ethiopia.
On 23 May 2000, Sudan reported over 100,000 Eritreans had crossed the border into the country, most in dire conditions. Sudan, struggling to cope with more than four million refugees or displaced people, has appealed for international help to deal with the new inflow of Eritreans, who have joined about 160,000 Eritrean refugees already living in Sudan. The independent al-Ayam daily said food had reached refugees at only one camp, at al-Lafa, which also received 820 tents. It reported three deaths among the refugees, but it was not clear if these were among the seven reported by state television. It quoted Abdalla Ahmed, head of a government refugee committee, as saying some refugees had been diagnosed with malaria or chest infections, but there were no epidemics and the refugees had been immunised against meningitis and measles. The U.N. World Food Programme has said it has distributed wheat flour, oil and onions to about 3,500 Eritrean refugees. Ethiopia has made huge advances into western Eritrea over the past 12 days and both sides pounded each other on a key central front on Tuesday, despite diplomatic peace efforts.

## Overview of war

In the early hours of the morning of 15 April 2023, soldiers loyal to the Rapid Support Forces started a series of assaults on key buildings in Khartoum, primarily the Khartoum International Airport. While the international airport was captured by the RSF, street battles continued throughout Khartoum and the neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri. The RSF also captured the presidential palace, the residence of the former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, and attacked a military base. Users on Facebook Live and Twitter documented the Sudanese Air Force flying above the city, and striking the RSF targets.

### Eritreans in Khartoum

Over 75,000 Eritreans were estimated to have been living in Khartoum, when the civil conflict was launched on 15 April 2023. Most of the citizens were reported to have been stuck and some had paid $410 for a ticket out of the capital. Hundreds fled to Wau and Kassala. There are reports that numerous Eritreans have gone missing in Kassala, a city near the Sudan-Eritrea border, creating concerns that they may have fallen victim to either the Eritrean regime or human traffickers.

#### Deportations

On 7 May 2023, several Eritrean civilians reported to the Guardian that the Eritrean army had taken several civilians back into the country forcefully. Some of those detained were reported to be activists who had fled the dictatorship of Isaias Afwerki. 95 people were sent to prison forcefully with severe punishments ahead of them, eight being women. Most of the people were men who had fled the Eritrean army. Asmara and Teseney were the main cities that these refugees were sent to.

## Relationship with contemporary Sudan

The Eritrean President, Isaias Afewerki, and his Sudanese counterpart Omar Al-Bashir held talks in Asmara on a number of bilateral issues of mutual concern to the two East African countries. The talks dealt with enhancing bilateral ties and cooperation including making their shared border more open. Sudan and Eritrea agreed to abolish entry visa requirements, opening their common borders for free movement of both nationals. In 2011, Eritrea and Sudan cooperated in the building of the Kassala-Al Lafa Highway linking the two countries.