Sudan has reduced its forces in Yemen to 5,000: PM

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan has reduced the number of troops it has stationed in Yemen to 5,000, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said Sunday.

Addressing reporters at Khartoum airport upon arriving from a visit to the United States, Hamdok announced for the first time that the number of Sudanese forces in Yemen had totaled 15,000 and confirmed that the government has withdrawn 10,000 troops in the past few months.

“Regarding the issue of Yemen, we actually talked about it at the Atlantic Council,” he said, referring to the Washington, D.C.- based think tank at which he spoke last Thursday.

“We confirmed that there is no military solution for the war in Yemen and we as Sudanese are very keen to help achieve a political solution there.

“Regarding the pullout of our forces in Yemen, the number of forces was 15,000, and we reduced them to 5,000. We didn’t talk about a withdrawal, but we talked about a reduction of the forces,” he emphasized.

Sudan is taking part in the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen that is fighting against Houthi rebels.

Hamdok further disclosed that progress was made during his U.S. visit on the removal of Sudan from Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, adding five of seven U.S. conditions had been resolved.

“We already resolved five conditions out of the seven that were put by the U.S., including the peace process in Sudan, humanitarian access, religious freedom, ties with North Korea and the situation of human rights,” he said.

“The two points still under discussion are the cooperation of Sudan regarding the war on terrorism and compensation for U.S. victims of the terrorist attacks at the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.”

During the visit, the two countries also agreed to exchange their ambassadors for the first time in 23 years.