Sudan militia leader meets with Egyptian president in Cairo

Egyptian President Abdelfattah Al Sisi has reiterated his country’s support for Sudan and the Sudanese people “in shaping the future of their country and preserving state institutions” during his meeting with the deputy chief of Sudan's ruling military council on Monday.

In his first official visit to the Egyptian capital, Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’, Deputy head of Sudan's military council and chief of the Rapid Support Forces, Sudan’s main government militia, talked about the latest developments in Sudan.

The Egyptian presidency reported in a press statement that Cairo “is ready to provide all means of support for the brothers in Sudan, to overcome this stage in line with the aspirations of the Sudanese people without external interventions”.

Al Sisi and Hemeti reviewed the signing of the Political Charter with the opposition coalition Forces for Freedom and Change on July 17.

He expressed his country's appreciation for Egypt's supportive role in Sudan, especially through its current chairmanship of the African Union, which "actively contributes to the efforts exerted to support Sudan in achieving the requirements of the current phase”.

Support

Cairo that used to back the regime of Omar Al Bashir, now supports the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) which ousted Al Bashir on April 11, after months-long mass protests against his rule.

The meeting with President Al Sisi came a day before negotiations between the TMC and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) opposition coalition about the Constitutional Declaration document were set to resume – though the FFC suspended the talks on Monday after five protesters, among them four school students*, were shot dead by RSF troops in El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan.

The Transitional Military Council also received support from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. About one week after the ousting of President Al Bashir on April 11, the two Sudan allies announced granting a $3 billion support package to Khartoum, including a deposit at the Central Bank of Sudan of 500,000 Dollar.

In May, Hemeti met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and TMC head Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan visited Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Khartoum and Cairo are participating in the Saudi-led military campaign against the Houthi-rebels in Yemen. According to Hemeti, Sudan provides “the largest force” to the Yemen war. In end June, he denied any interference in Sudan from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt.

* Initially, sources in El Obeid reported that five school students were killed.

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