Egypt embraces those fleeing the scourge of war; more than 65K Sudanese enter Egyptian territory so far

CAIRO – 10 May 2023: In light of the strong Egyptian-Sudanese relations, Egypt continues to support the brotherly country in its recent crisis.

From the moment the Sudanese crisis erupted in mid-April, and as the clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue to escalate, Egypt did not abandon Sudan, but rather opened its borders to the Sudanese people fleeing the scourge of war.

On May 7, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees revealed that more than 70,000 refugees from Sudan have arrived in Egyptian territory so, including more than 65,000 Sudanese, in light of the raging battles between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

In the first days of the clashes, the number of displaced Sudanese through the southern land crossings between Egypt and Sudan, led by the Al-Qastal and Arqin crossings, exceeded 14,000, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Additionally, the Egyptian Red Crescent Society has established a humanitarian relief center at Arqin crossing to provide humanitarian and relief services to the displaced. These services included psychological support services, medicines, snacks, and telephone and electronic means of communication.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt also evacuated 436 citizens from Sudan by land, in coordination with the Sudanese authorities, and helped many countries evacuate their nationals, as more than 16,000 citizens of other nationalities had been evacuated as of April 27. The embassies of Germany, China, South Africa and Pakistan officially thanked Egypt for contributing to the repatriation of their citizens.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called on the Sudanese parties to give priority to political dialogue and national consensus, and to support the higher interests of the brotherly Sudanese people, during a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Egyptian officials also communicated with both sides of the crisis, as Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry made phone calls with Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council; and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the Rapid Support Forces. Shoukry expressed Egypt's deep concern about the continuation of the military confrontations, which expose the security and stability of Sudan to grave dangers, calling for an immediate cease-fire to preserve the safety of the innocent, according to the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zaid.

Previously, Egypt had taken part in the negotiations between the Sudanese transitional government and the Revolutionary Front, and took the initiative to host a consultative summit of Sudan's regional partners on April 23, 2019, with the aim of resolving the differences between all Sudanese parties, both civil and military.

Cairo hosted, on August 10, 2019, a meeting between the Sudanese Forces for Freedom and Change and the Revolutionary Front, and participated in the signing of the power-sharing agreement between the Transitional Military Council and opposition representatives on August 17, 2019.

In March 2022, the Sudanese factions in Cairo organized the activities of declaring the Coordinating Federal Unity.

The file of peace and stability occupied the core of Egyptian interest, and resulted in an agreement to form joint forces under the name of "Sustainable National Forces for Peace in Darfur." In August 2020, Egypt participated as a witness and guarantor in the final signing ceremony of the "Juba Peace Agreement", and there are still many areas of cooperation that bring together the two brotherly countries.