Sudan Crisis Sets Stage For Possible Egypt Intervention
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Loading... - Lisa Steiner
- 02 May 2023
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Sudan has always been viewed by Egypt as strategic depth that is crucial for its national security; thus, the ongoing and rapidly developing crisis in Sudan undoubtedly presents the Egyptian administration with a set of complex and unique challenges. These challenges stem from the economy-related internal situation in Egypt, in parallel to external factors related to its foreign policy and strategic interests which can, at times, be opposed to regional Arab and Western allies’ interests. The latter was apparent over the past decade with regards to how Egypt approached the files of Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza. However, the situation in Sudan is like no other.
In Sudan, the conflict is between two heavily armed sides, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan’s Armed Forces (SAF), where both are roughly the same size in terms of fighting manpower. Yet the RSF’s history appears to be full of human rights abuses across Sudan and the paramilitary force that was originally created by the Sudanese government to counter national threats is now a regional major threat itself.
While the situation in Sudan is already starting to have spillover effects on neighbouring countries such as Chad, Central African Republic, and Eretria because of the massive influx of migrants, the threat to Egypt is much worse. Before the fighting, Egypt has been already the home for more than five million Sudanese people, representing more than 10% of Sudan’s population. Not to mention the number of Palestinian, Libyan, and Syrian refugees and immigrants who have found their way to Egypt since 2012. Yet with the ongoing and developing crisis in Sudan, Egypt is bracing for greater refugee influx – border crossing and smuggling – along with fear of lacking the capacity to absorb these refugees. Read More..
