© UNHCR/F. Courbet

UNHCR is concerned about a group of 250 Eritreans who have been held hostage for about a month by traffickers in the Sinai desert, Egypt.

UNHCR has very limited information about this group. According to media reports, traffickers are demanding payments of $8000 per person for their release. Allegedly people are being held in containers, and some may have been held for months.

At present UNHCR is in contact with the Egyptian government over this matter. Egypt’s Ministry of Interior has assured that around the clock efforts are underway to locate the hostages and release them.

Every year thousands of people attempt to cross the border from Egypt into Israel, and often end up in the hands of bedouin traffickers who have little regard for their safety. While many are migrants, UNHCR is concerned that some of these people may be in need of international protection.

UNHCR has been advocating with the Egyptian authorities for access to people who are detained in the course of making this journey, with a view to being able to determine those among them who are refugees and in need of international protection.