Amnesty urges Egypt to stop detaining Syrians

              
An international human rights group is urging Egypt to end its policy of unlawfully detaining Syrian refugees, including children, and forcibly returning them to their homeland, where civil war is raging.               

Amnesty International says hundreds who fled the bloodshed in Syria  including many children without their parents  face prolonged detention in poor conditions or deportation, which has in some cases separated family members.            

The Britain-based group says in a report released Thursday that its activists found one-year-old Syrian twins among refugees in Egypt's custody.                  

Amnesty says appalling conditions in detention and the threat of being send back to Syria is prompting many refugees to flee again. It says many embark on a treacherous journey by sea to Europe.                  

The U.N. says there are about 111,000 Syrians in Egypt.                


AP