Sudan’s Burhan visits Egypt to explore ways to restore stability

CAIRO / ISTANBUL

Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan arrived in Egypt on Monday for talks on restoring stability to his war-torn country.

Burhan was welcomed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi upon arrival at Cairo airport, Egyptian and Sudanese media reported.

Discussions between the two leaders took up developments in Sudan and military gains made by the Sudanese army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital Khartoum, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

They also discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and Egypt's effective contribution to the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in Sudan following the war, it said.

The two leaders called for intensifying efforts to provide support and assistance to the Sudanese in war zones, the statement said.

Since April 15, 2023, the RSF has been battling the Sudanese army forces for control of the country, resulting in thousands of deaths and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

More than 20,000 people have been killed so far, and 15 million others displaced, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US scholars, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.

Nile Basin

Sisi and Burhan also exchanged views on regional issues of common concern, including the Nile River Basin and the Horn of Africa.

According to the statement, both leaders reaffirmed coordination and joint work to preserve the water security of both nations and reiterated their rejection of any unilateral actions regarding the Nile water resources, especially the Blue Nile waters.

The Egyptian and Sudanese leaders also underlined commitment to international law and equitable use of the Nile water resources based on mutual benefits, the statement said.

Downstream countries Egypt and Sudan have been locked in a years-long dispute with Ethiopia, an upstream nation, over a dam project being carried out by Addis Ababa on the Nile River.

Cairo sees the Ethiopian dam as an existential threat to its water share from the Nile River, the country’s only source of freshwater.