20 Apr 2023; MEMO: The Sudanese Army announced, on Wednesday evening, the evacuation of 177 members of the technical crews from the Egyptian Air Force who were being held by the Rapid Support Forces in Merowe to Cairo.
Army spokesman, Nabil Abdullah, said in a statement "Today, in coordination between the Sudanese and Egyptian sides, 177 technical crews from the Egyptian Air Force who had been detained in Merowe during the outbreak of the Rapid Support rebellion were evacuated to Egypt from Dongola Airport by 4 Egyptian military transport planes."
He noted that the presence of these crews belonging to the Egyptian Air Force was due to a training protocol that was signed between the two countries in 2018, according to which joint exercises are conducted between the two Air Forces in the two countries, alternately.
He added, "A new round of the Nile Protectors exercise was scheduled for May."
On Wednesday evening, Egyptian media reported that "the first batch of Egyptian soldiers who were being held in Sudan arrived in Cairo", noting that the second batch would be arriving "within hours".
This came about 5 days after the Rapid Support Forces posted on its Twitter account a video suggesting the presence of Egyptian soldiers in their possession, after clashes broke out with the Sudanese Army on Saturday.
The Egyptian Army confirmed earlier that these soldiers (the number of whom was not mentioned) "were in military training with their Sudanese counterparts, and their return is being secured".
Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi revealed, on Monday, after presiding over the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, that there is ongoing communication to secure the return of the Egyptian military officers "as soon as possible".
On Wednesday, Sudan's Rapid Support Forces said in a statement: "We announce the transfer of the Egyptian nationals who were at Merowe Airport during the clashes that took place last Saturday, to the capital, Khartoum."
"We assure the families and Egyptian government that the soldiers who were present at the Merowe military base are all well and receiving the necessary care, and they will be handed over when the appropriate opportunity arises, according to the conditions the country is experiencing."
For the fifth day in a row, Sudan is witnessing clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum and other cities, and the two sides exchanged accusations that each of them launched an attack on the headquarters of the other, in addition to allegations of controlling sites belonging to each of them.
