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PM: Sudan Cuts Troops in Yemen by Two-Thirds


FILE - Sudanese troops with a military coalition in Yemen backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates detect mines at a facility in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, Jan. 22, 2019.
FILE - Sudanese troops with a military coalition in Yemen backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates detect mines at a facility in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, Jan. 22, 2019.

Sudan has reduced its troop strength in Yemen by two-thirds, to just 5,000 troops from a peak of 15,000, Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said Monday.

The country has been involved in Yemen's civil war as part of the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting Houthi rebels since 2015.

Political analyst Khalid Alfaki said Sudanese leaders see little need for further involvement in the war.

FILE - Sudan's Prime Minister in the transitional government, Abdalla Hamdok, speaks during a Reuters interview in Khartoum, Aug. 24, 2019.
FILE - Sudan's Prime Minister in the transitional government, Abdalla Hamdok, speaks during a Reuters interview in Khartoum, Aug. 24, 2019.

Internal developments in Yemen require the fast withdrawal and decrease of Sudanese troops in the country, Alfaki said, and the troop withdrawal is compatible with Hamdok's approach of ending participation in regional or international wars.

The conflict in Yemen erupted in 2014, when Houthi rebels took control of the capital, Sanaa. One year later, then-Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir sent troops to support a Saudi-led effort to restore Yemen's legitimate government.

Five years of war have left tens of thousands of people dead, and hundreds of thousands more displaced from their homes. The Saudis and Houthis have been holding informal peace talks, though fighting continues.

Former Sudanese Army Lieutenant Abdurrahman Mohamed said Sudan is following the Arab coalition's lead. He noted that in July, the United Arab Emirates reduced its troop presence in Yemen and withdrew heavy weapons.

Sudan's new transitional government, formed in August, is attempting to end all of Sudan's wars, both internal and international, as the country tries to move on from Bashir's 30-year rule.

The United States has agreed to restore full diplomatic relations with Sudan after more than two decades, but is still listing Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism.

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