Sudan reduces forces deployed in Yemen to 'minor' group

KHARTOUM

Sudanese military on Tuesday announced reducing the number of its troops deployed in Yemen.

Brig. Gen. Jamal Adam, a spokesman for the Rapid Support Forces, told Anadolu Agency that a "minor" group of 657 Sudanese military personnel remained in Yemen.

He pointed out that "even the command of the Sudanese forces [in Yemen] returned to Khartoum."

"The Sudanese forces present in Yemen were operating within two sections, the [United Arab] Emirates sector inside Aden, and the Saudi sector that extends on the Saudi-Yemeni border," the spokesman said.

Adam stressed that the Sudanese forces in Yemen had a defensive role in the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen.

On Dec. 8, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced that the number of Sudanese forces was reduced to 5,000 from 15,000 in the past few months.

Sudan has been involved in the Yemeni war as part of the Saudi-led coalition which began in March 2015.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

Commenting on the situation in Libya, spokesman asserted that there are no Sudanese Rapid Support forces fighting in Libya.

"We will not have forces fighting in Libya, there are those who impersonate the name of rapid support," he said, expressing support for political solution in Libya.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat