Sudan's military welcomes Netanyahu-Burhan meeting, allows Israel to use airspace

Sudan's military has welcomed rapproachment with Israel after Burhan visited Netanyahu in Uganda.

2 min read

05 February, 2020

Sudan's military is welcoming the normalisation project [Getty]

Sudan's military has announced it supported an unprecedented meeting held between the country's leader and Israel's prime minister in Uganda this week, saying the relationship would help boost national security.

UAE-backed General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan's ruling sovereign council, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Entebbe on Monday in a meeting that was not pre-announced.

On Tuesday, Burhan briefed the sovereign council and key ministers about his meeting, saying he met Netanyahu "to protect the national security of Sudan".

The military's support for Burhan on the matter came after top officers met at army headquarters in Khartoum.

"There was a meeting at the army headquarters today, and those present... were briefed about the visit ... and its impact on Sudan's national security," military spokesman Brigadier Amir Mohamed Al-Hassan told AFP.

"The army is in favour of this (Burhan-Netanyahu) meeting as it is in the interest of Sudan's national security."

Burhan on Wednesday also announced that Israel will now be able to use Sudanese airspace.

On Wednesday, Burhan said he met with Netanyahu to boost Israel's national security and received the backing of prime minister Abdalla Hamdok.

Israel remains technically at war with Sudan, which supported hardline Islamists including Al-Qaeda during the decades-long reign of autocrat Omar Al-Bashir, ousted amid mass protests last year.

The Palestinian leadership has denounced the meeting as "a stab in the back", just days after the Israeli leader and US President Donald Trump unveiled a controversial peace plan, widely seen as skewed towards Israel.

Agencies contributed to this report.