Egyptian foreign ministry relocates diplomatic mission in Khartoum: spokesman

The Egyptian diplomatic mission in Sudan's capital Khartoum has been relocated somewhere else due to security risks amid the ongoing conflict between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"The members of the diplomatic and consular mission and technical offices of the embassy have been moved to be able to continue their operations and follow up on the evacuation process of Egyptian nationals from the country," spokesman of the Egyptian foreign ministry ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement released on Wednesday evening.

Abu Zeid did not mention where the new embassy premises will be located. 

In an earlier statement released on the same day, the foreign ministry spokesman declared that a total of 2,679 Egyptians had already been evacuated from Sudan and arrived in Egypt.

Over 10,000 Egyptian expatriates are thought to live in Sudan.

On Monday, Mohamed El-Gharawwi, assistant administrative attaché at Egypt's Khartoum embassy, was killed on his way to the embassy headquarters to help with the evacuation of Egyptian citizens. The perpetrators are yet to be identified amid the two factions exchanging accusations.  

Fierce fighting broke out in Sudan between the army, led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the RSF, headed by Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Daglo, on 15 April. 

Both men were part of a transitional government created after Omar al-Bashir was ousted from power in 2019 and later orchestrated a coup in October 2021 to derail the country’s delicate democracy. 

Tensions have flared recently over the integration of the RSF into the regular army. 

While Egypt has not directly involved itself in the fighting, Cairo has strong ties to the Sudanese army.

Sudan's ruling General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan trained with Egyptian generals in the past, and the two forces have regularly conducted joint exercises.

Burhan's current enemies in Sudan, the RSF, reportedly have strong links to the UAE and Saudi Arabia,

The RSF's international alliances have put the Egyptian regime in a rather complicated situation, as it also has close ties to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.