Egyptian embassy employee shot in Sudan: official

A staff member at the Egyptian embassy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum has been shot, Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement on Sunday.

Abu Zeid called on the Egyptians in Sudan to be cautious amid the ongoing fighting in the country as the embassy announced a hotline numbers for Egyptian expatriates to help evacuate them.

No further details were immediately available about the medical condition of the injured employee or his identity.

In an earlier press briefing, Abu Zeid said that evacuating about 10,000 Egyptians in Sudan would require thorough planning to ensure their safety following the conflict which erupted in the country earlier this month between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudan's regular army.

This week, dozens of Egyptian troops who were taking part in a drill with the regular Sudanese army were detained by the RSF and released days later. 

While Egypt has not directly involved itself in the fighting, Cairo has strong ties to the Sudanese army.

Sudan's ruling General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan trained with Egyptian generals in the past, and the two forces have regularly conducted joint exercises. Burhan's current enemies in Sudan, the RSF, reportedly have strong links to the UAE and Saudi Arabia,

The RSF's international alliances have put the Egyptian government in a complicated situation, as it also has close ties to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.