CAIRO, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Most of the Egyptian troops who were sent to Sudan to conduct a joint training with their Sudanese counterparts have returned safely to the Egyptian capital of Cairo, an army spokesperson said on Thursday.
In cooperation with security agencies in Sudan, Egypt dispatched three military planes to Sudan to evacuate the Egyptian soldiers on Wednesday, an army statement quoted Spokesperson Gharib Abdel-Hafez as saying.
The Egyptian soldiers were in Sudan to participate in a joint training with their Sudanese counterparts when clashes erupted between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Monday the Egyptian troops went to Sudan solely for training purposes and not to support any particular party.
The three planes carried most of the Egyptian troops from Sudan to a military base in Cairo on Wednesday, the statement reads, adding the remaining Egyptian soldiers were evacuated to the Egyptian embassy in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and will return to Egypt once the conditions have become more stable in Sudan.
A total of 177 Egyptian soldiers returned to Cairo while 27 remained in Sudan, local media reported.
The Egyptian army statement confirmed that all of the Egyptian soldiers are in good conditions.
In a separate statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Egypt had coordinated and cooperated with the United Arab Emirates to ensure the safety of the remaining Egyptian soldiers in Sudan, who were detained and released by the RSF.
The ministry expressed Egypt's willingness to stop the fighting in Sudan and protect civilians and civil institutions. It also stressed the importance of dialogue and political settlement to resolve all differences and ensure security and political stability in Sudan.
Armed clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF broke out in Khartoum and other areas outside the capital since April 15, with the two sides accusing each other of initiating the conflict. So far, at least 174 people have been killed in the conflict. ■