Egyptian foreign minister visits Sudan for bilateral talks after RSF takeover of El-Fasher

By Betul Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty departed for Sudan on Tuesday for talks with senior officials there amid fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

A Foreign Ministry readout said the top diplomat will discuss the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and efforts to reach a comprehensive solution to preserve the country’s security and stability.

Abdelatty will explore with Sudanese officials in Port Sudan ways to enhance cooperation between Cairo and Khartoum, the ministry said.

Sudan faces a worsening humanitarian crisis amid a bloody conflict between the army and the RSF since April 2023, which has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions of people.

On Oct. 26, the RSF seized control of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, and committed massacres, according to local and international organizations.

Egypt has been a key backer of the Sudanese government in the ongoing conflict with the RSF. Cairo has been mediating as part of an international mechanism to reach a humanitarian truce in the country.

With the fall of El-Fasher, the RSF gained control of all five Darfur states in the west, out of Sudan’s 18 states, while the army controls most areas of the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east, and center, including the capital Khartoum.

Darfur makes up about one-fifth of Sudan’s territory, but most of the country’s 50 million people live in army-held areas.