Middle East Eye: Sudan sends hundreds of troops to Yemen via Saudi Arabia

Hundreds of Sudanese soldiers arrived in Saudi Arabia last week on their way to Yemen, indicating that Khartoum is increasing its involvement in the war, the Middle East Eye reported, citing sources .

Sudan announced in January that it would reduce its military presence in Yemen from about 5,000 to a “small” group of about 650 soldiers, after participating in up to 15,000 troops deployed there as part of the Saudi-led coalition against the Yemeni army and popular committees, known in the western media as “Houthis” .

Saudi sources told Middle East Eye that 1,018 Sudanese army officers and soldiers entered the kingdom by sea on September 22 and reached the southeastern city of Jizan near the Yemeni border.

An informed source, said two Sudanese planes carrying military personnel left Khartoum for Najran airport in southern Saudi Arabia the day before the naval regiment arrived.

Former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir decided to take part in the war in Yemen alongside Saudi Arabia in 2015 to help Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi regain power, and Sudanese forces were particularly active on the country’s Red Sea coast.

Since the overthrow of al-Bashir’s government years ago, the new rulers — a mixture of civilians and military — have begun to drive Sudanese forces out of Yemen, yet a few hundred rapid support forces have remained in the UAE-controlled Aden and on the Saudi-Yemeni border.

Last week, Sudanese media reported that Rapid Support Forces had sent 28 civilians from Western Darfur to fight in Yemen.

E.M