Egypt says breakup of Sudan is a 'red line' it will not stand by and watch

Warning coincides with visit to Cairo by Sudan's army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan

Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan will discuss ways to end Sudan's civil war during his Cairo visit, the Egyptian presidency said. AFP

Egypt on Thursday served notice it would not stand by and watch the break-up of Sudan, saying there are “red lines” regarding its war-torn southern neighbour that it would not allow anyone to cross.

The warning was issued in an Egyptian presidency statement that coincided with talks in Cairo between Sudan's army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

“The Arab Republic of Egypt emphasises that there are red lines that cannot be crossed or taken lightly because they directly touch Egyptian national security that is in turn directly linked to Sudan's own national security,” said the statement.

“Preserving the unity and territorial integrity of Sudan and protecting the rights of the Sudanese people are among those red lines; including not allowing the secession of any part of Sudan,” it added.

“Egypt emphasises its full right to take all measures and steps guaranteed by international law and the joint defence pact between the two brotherly nations in order to ensure that those red lines are not crossed or touched.”

The unusually stern tone of the statement reflected Egypt's alarm that the two sides of Sudan's two-year-old civil war – the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the national army – may in effect enforce a de facto partition of Sudan. It also suggested that Egypt might consider military intervention if its “red lines” are not heeded.

The RSF controls the western region of the vast Afro-Arab state, while the army holds sway in the capital Khartoum as well as the eastern, central and northern regions.

Egypt's president met Sudan's army chief in Cairo. Photo: SUNA

Already, both sides have governments of their own, with the RSF's based in the Darfur city of Nyala, while the government's is in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

Egypt and Sudan have had close relations for centuries. The two Nile Basin nations were united from the 19th century until 1956, when Sudan gained independence from Anglo-Egyptian rule.

Egypt has, in the past, shown a preference for military-led regimes in Khartoum, consistently struggling to secure the loyalty or full co-operation of elected governments eager to emerge from what they saw as the patronage of their larger neighbour in the north.

Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on December 15. SPA

Egypt, said the statement from its presidency, is “watching with deep alarm the continuing escalation and extreme tension in Sudan that have given rise to harrowing massacres and blatant abuses of the simplest human rights against Sudanese civilians, especially in El Fasher”.

That was a reference to the killing of civilians by RSF fighters in that city in Darfur after they captured it in late October to end the military's presence in the troubled region.

The statement also asserted the need to safeguard Sudan's “state institutions”, a term consistently used by Egypt to refer to the national army in Sudan. “Undermining these institutions is another red line for Egypt,” it warned.

Gen Al Burhan's visit to Cairo follows his talks on Monday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh. They discussed “the latest developments in Sudan, their repercussions and the ongoing efforts to achieve security and stability”, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to pause Sudan's war were rekindled in November when US President Donald Trump said he would help end the conflict, after Crown Prince Mohammed urged him to intervene during a visit to Washington.

Egypt's statement on Thursday said it supported Mr Trump's efforts “to achieve peace, stability and security” to Sudan.

On Wednesday, Washington and Riyadh agreed on “practical steps” to bring about a humanitarian truce in Sudan, according to a senior US official. The official gave no details of the steps.

Gen Al Burhan has alternated between taking a hardline stance on the peace efforts by the US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and showing flexibility. He had initially rejected their proposals outright before later moderating his position while insisting he would continue to fight the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) until it is vanquished.

However, pressure has mounted on the Sudanese general to agree to a ceasefire as his army has suffered major battlefield setbacks since October. Aside from El Fasher in Darfur, the army later lost the city of Babanusa, in neighbouring Kordofan, where major cities are besieged or under sustained attack by the RSF or its rebel allies.

The latest fighting leaves the RSF in full control of Darfur, a region roughly the size of France, and parts of Kordofan, where the fighting has shifted and the paramilitary group is allied with a powerful rebel group.

The army controls the capital, Khartoum, as well as the country's eastern, northern and central regions. However, the vast distances separating the army and the RSF have been partially bridged by drones that travel hundreds of kilometres to strike the other side.

Tens of thousands have been killed in Sudan's war, which began in April 2023. At least 12 million Sudanese have been displaced by the war, which has also created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with some 25 million people – half the population – facing hunger.