Sudan's RSF claims to capture 'Egyptian mercenaries' in war

The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed to have captured "Egyptian mercenaries" in Sudan, days after it accused the Egyptian government of being involved in military operations against the group.

RSF said in a statement on Friday that it had taken prisoner Egyptian soldiers who had fought with the Sudanese army in the war and accused Egypt of supplying weapons, ammunition and aircraft.

"Our forces have captured Egyptian mercenaries who participated alongside the army in the current war, and they are now prisoners of our forces," RSF said in a statement on social media site X on Friday.

"Egypt has also continued to support the army with all military capabilities, and has facilitated the entry of supplies of weapons, ammunition, aircraft and drones across its borders," the statement continued.

Earlier this week, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, said that Cairo had participated in airstrikes on the group, a claim which was rejected by the Egyptian foreign ministry.

Since April 2023, the RSF have been engaged in a war against the regular Sudanese army which has torn Sudan apart, displacing millions of people.

Friday’s statement from the RSF accused the Egyptians of being responsible for the killing of Sudanese civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure.

“The Egyptian air force has also contributed to the killing of hundreds of innocent civilians in Darfur, Khartoum, Al-Jazirah, Sennar, Mellit, Al-Koma, Nyala and Al-Daien.”

“Egypt has also provided the army with supplies of 250-kilogram American-made bombs that have destroyed homes, markets and civilian facilities," it read.

The RSF accused Egypt, which borders Sudan to the north and has received thousands of refugees, of being biased and warned them against interfering in “Sudanese affairs” and said Cairo served as a “safe haven” for Islamist extremists.

Egypt has been involved in recent mediation efforts with the US and Saudi Arabia to end the fighting. It is close to Sudan's ruler and army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is  a bitter enemy of Dagalo and  survived an assassination attempt earlier this year.

Over the past 18 months, the conflict has displaced more than ten million people with tens of thousands of civilians believed to have been killed.

Aid agencies have reported difficulties in supplying humanitarian aid to millions in need of food and shelter, while there are fears of widespread ethnic cleansing and sexual violence by the RSF.

The Sudanese army has in turn accused the militia group of receiving external support from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Sudanese government accuses the Gulf nation of providing the group with weapons, something which has been dismissed by the Emiratis.  

Swathes of the western Darfur region have seen some of the worst atrocities where the RSF closed in on the city of al-Fashir, trapping nearly one million civilians inside. With access to large parts of the country difficult, researchers and international aid agencies have been using satellite imagery to track the fighting.