Sudan’s military said on Wednesday that 177 Egyptian troops, captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), had been evacuated to their homeland.
On Wednesday night, Egyptian media reported that the Egyptian soldiers, who were in Sudan for exercises and were captured by the RSF at the Merowe military base, have departed for their native country. Following press reports, Egyptian Armed Forces Spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez said that the North African nation’s armed forces were closely monitoring the situation in Sudan and were working together with the relevant Sudanese authorities to guarantee the safety of the Egyptian service members.
“In coordination between the Sudanese and Egyptian sides, today [on Wednesday] 177 Egyptian air force specialists, who were detained in Merowe during the mutiny of the Rapid Support Forces formations, were evacuated to the Arab Republic of Egypt from Dongola airport [in northern Sudan] aboard four Egyptian military transport aircraft,” the armed forces of Sudan said on social media.
On Saturday, the RSF said that a battalion of Egyptian troops had surrendered at the Merowe military airbase. Egypt’s armed forces said they were coordinating with the Sudanese authorities to ensure the safety of the service members. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said that his troops had arrived in Sudan for exercises, and not to support any side.
The RSF said on Wednesday that the soldiers, who were at the Merowe military base, were being transferred to Khartoum and would be handed over to Egypt if a “suitable opportunity” arose.
Violent clashes between the Sudanese regular army and the RSF broke out on Saturday, with the epicenter of fighting in Khartoum. Government forces accused the RSF of mutiny and launched airstrikes against their bases. Later that day, Abdel Fattah Burhan, the commander of the Sudanese military, issued a decree disbanding the RSF. On Tuesday, the parties agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire beginning at 6 p.m. local time (16:00 GMT).
The Sudanese Health Ministry estimated that around 270 people had been killed and 2,600 others injured in the four days of clashes.
