UNHCR chief: Eritrean refugees kidnapped and killed for the traffic of organs
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, spoke after a tour of the Shagarab refugee camp which receives about 2,000 asylum-seekers every month, largely from neighbouring Eritrea where many have fled military service. ”Taking profit of the desperate situation of many Eritreans that are leaving the country we have now a network, a criminal network, of smugglers and traffickers,” Guterres told reporters. ”People are kidnapped for ransom,” and in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula where some end up, they have been “killed for the traffic of organs”, he said. To deal with the “extremely serious” problem, the UNHCR will work with Sudanese authorities and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), an intergovernmental body, to strengthen local police with additional vehicles, computers and other equipment, Guterres said. ”This is not only a problem of Sudan” because the gangs are global, he added, and countering their “very lucrative” activity requires combined action by different governments.