CAIRO, December 30, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The brutal handling of Sudanese refugees by Egyptian police forces Friday, December 30, intrigued public fury and brought to the fore the notorious practices by the security forces and their excessive use of force against Egyptians themselves during the recent parliamentary elections.

"This crime proves anew the little, if any, weight our police forces give to human rights or even human life itself," a visibly furious Egyptian student told IOL, following the weekly Friday prayers at a mosque in Dokki, not far from where the tragic incident took place hours earlier.

An unknown number of Sudanese refugees were killed when thousands of Egyptian riot police forcefully broke up a three-month protest they had been staging outside UN offices in Cairo.

While the Egyptian ministry of interior put the number of dead at 10, a refugee source doubled the figure.

Over five thousand policemen armed with sticks and shields broke up the small square where the Sudanese refugees had been camping at around 5:00 am (0300 GMT) Friday.

"What do you expect with Habeeb El-Adly holding to his post after the massacres police forces committed against us Egyptians in the elections?" charged Samer, a political science student at Cairo University.

He was referring to Egyptian Minister of Interiors Habeeb El-Adly, who has been facing growing calls for his sacking following the death of 11 Egyptians and the wounding of scores others during the country's month-long parliamentary polls that ended December 6.

Dozens of Egyptians, leaving the mosque, echoed the same message.

Police officers were shown kicking refugees on TV. (Reuters)

One of the refugees, who was at a Cairo hospital where most of the injured and those who breathed their last were transferred, told IOL over the phone that some 20, including at least three children and four elderly, were killed by police brutality.

"I lost my baby and my father is struggling on death bed here. What is worse is that I do not know about the fate of the rest of my family who were forced into these buses," the Sudanese refugee said, asking not to be named.

The refugees were forced into dozens of buses lined up on one of the main thoroughfares in Cairo's neighborhood of Mohandessin, ending a standoff that had lasted most of the night.

Eyewitnesses asserted to IOL that there were at least 20 victims that lost their lives, following the end of the violent attack by police forces.

A statement from the ministry of interiors cited a number of reasons behind the bloody confrontation, ranging from complaints from residents of the area where the some 3,000 refugees have been setting up their makeshift camp for some three months, to fears of a disease outbreak and threats filed against the nearby offices of the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

But the head of the UN refugee agency in Geneva said he was "deeply shocked" at the killings.

"I am deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic events early today in Cairo," High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

"Although we still do not have all of the details or a clear picture of what transpired, violence left several people dead and injured.

"There is no justification for such violence and loss of life. This is a terrible tragedy and our condolences go to all the families of those who died and to the injured," he said.

The UNHCR in Egypt were not available for comment.

Up to 3,000 protesters had been living at the camp since it was set up on September 29.

The long-running demonstration began after the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stopped aid to those who had applied and failed to get refugee status.

Human rights groups in Egypt are demanding a probe into the brutal attack. (Reuters)

Head of Egyptian National Society for Human Rights (ENSHR) Ameer Salem told IOL that what happened in Cairo Friday was nothing less than "a human massacre and a new black spot in the ugly record of the Egyptian security forces that give no damn about the lives of civilians".

Salem called for an investigation to unveil those responsible for killing the refugees.

"All those who planned and carried out that crime must be presented to trial before the Egyptian courts that give legal refugees all rights. We will also call for compensating the victims' families and we will be monitoring how much the Egyptian government respects local and international laws in that matter."

The Movement of Egyptian Mothers, a nascent civil society group, also called for a sit-in Saturday, December 31, at 5:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. GMT) at the same square where the brutal handling took place to protest the bloody incident.

The violent intervention of Egyptian police to disperse the protests has drawn rebukes from a human rights group.

"The Egyptian police handling of the protests of the Sudanese refugees is by all means a crime," Nijad Al-Boraei of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights told Al-Jazeera Friday.

He said that the Egyptian police are used to resorting to excessive force in dealing with protests.

"Friday's police handling of the protests brings to mind police practices during the Egyptian parliamentary elections, which left 11 people killed."

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