CAIRO, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Egypt has decided not to deport 462 Sudanese nationals it detained following criticism of a deadly raid on squatters during a Cairo protest.

The Sudanese have been held in jails and prison camps near Cairo on charges of not having proper visas. Prior to that, the refugees had been squatting in the middle of a middle-class neighborhood, sleeping on the sidewalks and bathing in a local mosque.

The police raid occurred earlier this month after detainees organized a sit-in protest at a squatter camp to urge the United Nations refugee agency to relocate them. The incident left 27 people dead, including women and children, The New York Times reports.

Egypt blamed the Sudanese and the United Nations for the crisis. It also claimed to have acted within the law, the report said. Cairo later threatened to deport the Sudanese.

Now an Egyptian foreign ministry official says the detainees will be released after the United Nations refugee agency and authorities review the prisoners' individual files.