Egypt’s pragmatic approach to Sudanese crisis
November 15, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Egypt has long been viewed as one of the main supporters of the Sudanese military playing an outsized role in the political arena.
This approach has helped fuel suspicions that Cairo may have gone as far as inciting the October 25th military coup led by General Abdel-Fatah al-Burhan against the civilian government of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.
Publicly, Egypt has remained largely silent on Sudan’s political developments except for intermittent statements of support for the “political stability and territorial integrity” of its southern neighbour.
Also notably, Cairo is not part of efforts spearheaded by the United States, European Union (EU), Saudi Arabia and the UAE to reach a political settlement among the Sudanese parties that would reverse the coup and transfer power again to civilians.
Fears of civilian rule
Muhammad Idris, a professor of international relations argues that Egyptian president Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi does not support a solution that would bring civilians back into power.
He told {Sudan Tribune} that al-Sisi would not publicly oppose the efforts undertaken by the aforementioned countries but he also would not back since keeping the military in power is interlinked with Egyptian “huge interests”.
Preemptive diplomacy
Idris noted that Egypt is now stepping up communications with Sudanese political parties involved in talks moderated by regional powers in anticipation of a deal that would push the Sudanese military away from governing.
A diplomat told Sudan Tribune that the Egyptian mission in Khartoum did not show support for any initiative aimed at bridging the gap between civilians and the military.
The diplomat believes that Cairo is taking steps to build bridges with the political forces in Sudan as well as anti-coup groups.
Egypt is also drawing plans in the event of any major grand bargain that would lead to a deal between the military and civilian forces to ensure that Egyptian interests are preserved, the diplomat added.
Playing both sides
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which has long been allied with Egypt has recently signed on to the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) political declaration. The FFC was the main governing coalition prior to the coup.
But there is another faction led by Jaafar al-Mirghani within the party that forged an alliance with coup-supporting forces.
Al-Mirghani was present alongside the Egyptian ambassador in the signing ceremony involving pro-coup forces which reinforce the view of Cairo’s support of the military.
Also, last October, a delegation from the National Umma Party (NUP) visited Cairo and held meetings with Egyptian officials to discuss bilateral ties and areas of cooperation.
Egyptian advisers
Since the October 25th coup of Al-the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel has been visiting Khartoum sometimes in secrecy to convey specific messages about the situation in Sudan.
The London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed website reported last month that an Egyptian advisory team is in Khartoum, with the aim of advising al-Burhan on how to deal with critical internal political issues.
(ST)