Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Sunday said that the number of troops stationed in Yemen has been reduced from 15,000 to 5,000, reported Reuters.
During an interview with reporters at Khartoum airport upon arriving from his United States tour, Hamdok said the Sudanese government has withdrawn 10,000 troops from Yemen in the past few months. He said he had talked regarding the issue of Yemen at the Atlantic Council.
“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,” Prime Minister Hamdok said. “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 withdrawal, but we talked about a reduction of the forces.”
Sudanese troops have been deployed as part of a Saudi-led alliance in Yemen that is fighting against the Houthi movement that controls the capital, Sanaa. Houthis claim they are fighting a corrupt system.
In June, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also announced that it had scaled down its military presence in Yemen, and later withdrew troops from the southern port of Aden.
Talking about his recent Washington tour, Hamdok said he had held successful talks with U.S. officials on Sudan’s removal from the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list. The U.S. government listed Sudan in its list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1993 alleging that former President Omar al-Bashir’s government was backing Islamic terrorist groups.
Hamdok said from an initial list of seven conditions for Sudan’s removal from the list, five conditions had been resolved including the peace process in Sudan, humanitarian access, religious freedom, the situation of human rights and relationship with North Korea.
The two countries have also agreed to exchange their ambassadors for the first time in 23 years.
