Sudanese refugees in Egypt were faced with the choice of living without Shelter or returning to war in their homeland

With ten months having passed since the outbreak of war in Sudan, many Sudanese refugees in Egypt face a difficult choice between returning to their homeland, knowing they will live in Khartoum under the threat of bombing, or staying in Cairo with no shelter.

Rahab arrived in Egypt with her children seven months ago while pregnant. At the same time, her husband remained in Sudan, where a war has been raging since last April between the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

She tells Agence France-Presse, 'My daughter was born here, and I can't even feed her.'

The war has claimed thousands of lives, including 10,000 to 15,000 in a single city in Darfur, according to UN experts.

The conflict has also displaced over eight million Sudanese, according to the United Nations, including 1.6 million who currently live outside Sudan.

Abraham Kier, aged 28, tells Agence France-Presse that most Sudanese who sought refuge in Egypt 'thought life in Egypt would be better.'

Kier, who sought refuge in Egypt five years ago and now helps newly arrived refugees, continues, 'They've discovered the bitter truth—they have no money, no housing, no winter clothes to face the cold, so they prefer to return.'

Official numbers indicate that 450,000 Sudanese have crossed into Egypt since the outbreak of the war, while others have entered unofficially through the desert.

These individuals sought to escape the bombing. However, after several months without work, housing, or assistance in a country suffering from inflation exceeding 35%, their savings evaporated.

Many are forced to live in cramped apartments housing two or three families, relying on a single income well below the minimum wage.

AFP