Five Sudanese soldiers killed in Yemen: official

April 11, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Five Sudanese soldiers have been killed in Yemen where the Sudanese army participates within the Sunni Arab coalition in the fighting against the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels.

The Sudanese troops in Yemen “Today, have successfully completed the first phase (of military attacks) and took the control of all the assigned targets and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and captured large numbers of them,” said a statement released on Tuesday night.

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) spokesperson Ahmed Khalifa al-Shami didn’t specify the areas these operations are taking place in Yemen. He further said the five soldiers were killed and other 22 wounded.

The Sudanese army has been participating in the Saudi-led military coalition since 2015 in a regional effort to back the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after he was ousted from the capital Sanaa by the Houthis.

The coalition backed Hadi’s forces hold most of Yemen’s territory in the south and east parts of the country, while the Houthis control mainly population centres in the north-west, including Sanaa, the largest city in Yemen.

At least 10,000 people have been killed and the country is on the brink of famine in this proxy war to define the balance of power in the Middle East.

Tuesday’s announcement is the second since the participation of Sudanese troops in the Yemeni conflict. At the end of January 2016, the defence ministry announced the death of a soldier in Aden.

The number of Sudanese soldiers in Yemen is not known but in October 2015 Yemeni army said they expect 6,000 troops. Also at the time, security sources told the Associated Press (AP) that Sudan plans to send a total of 10,000 soldiers.

(ST)