Sudan denies troops withdrawal from Yemen

December 28, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese army denied, on Tuesday, reports about the withdrawal of its forces deployed in Yemen under the Saudi-led coalition to fight the Iran-aligned Houthi group.

Quoting government and military sources, the Yemeni Third Opinion news outlet said that the Sudanese forces in Yemen since the start of the war in 2015 have actually begun to withdraw from Al-Anad heading to the port of Aden 50 km from the military base.

” Effectively Sudanese military units that were operating at the Al-Anad base withdrew two days ago towards the coastal city of Aden. But they would be replaced by a new force that will secure another site inside Yemen,” army spokesman Nabil Abdallah told Sudan Tribune.

Abdallah added that the rotational replacement of Sudanese troops is carried out in coordination between the command of the coalition and the Sudanese army which is an essential component of the coalition, as he said.

On December 8, 2019, former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok announced that it has only 5,000 soldiers in participating the Decisive Storm operation in Yemen.

Before him in October of the same year, the Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, disclosed the withdrawal of 10,000 soldiers from Yemen.

A week ago on December 21, Sudanese Defence Minister Yassin Ibrahim and his Yemeni counterpart, Mohsen al-Daeri signed a military cooperation agreement.

The deal provides among others to provide the necessary support related to peace operations, crisis management, counter-terrorism operations and maritime piracy.

An UN-brokered truce in Yemen ended in October 2022, after six months. But the parties failed to renew it.

(ST)