An active member of the Sudanese Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cairo, Betty Asenzo Bernard, was killed when thousands of Egyptian police officers broke up a protest camp outside the United Nations building in Cairo on Friday, Dec. 30, 2005.

Several members of the Adventist congregation are still missing after the event. Many families have been separated as police raided Sudanese homes and took people away for questioning.

Media reports indicate that more than 3,500 Sudanese migrants were protesting outside the U.N. refugee agency since September for better treatment of refugees and improved living conditions. The violence erupted when police attempted to forcibly remove the protesters with truncheons and by spraying a water cannon. Twenty-seven protesters were killed and 11 injured, although some unofficial reports put the figure closer to 216 dead. Some protesters were swiftly deported to Sudan because they had misplaced their identity papers.

Pastor Kjell Aune, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Middle East, is currently in Cairo. Commenting on the events he said, “The Sudanese community in Cairo is grieving because of this deeply frustrating situation—having lost family and close friends. The Sudanese need our prayers as they try to come to terms with an uncertain future.”

Tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees fled to Egypt, following decades of civil war in Sudan. Nearly 80 people regularly attend the Sudanese Adventist Church that meets in Cairo.