Sudanese Troops to Remain in Yemen

Sudanese troops participating in a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen will remain in the war-wracked country until the Arab alliance achieves its goals, a senior Sudanese military official said Monday.

"We will stick to our commitment with the Arab alliance and our troops will remain until the alliance achieves its goals," Mohammad Hamdan Daglo, the number two in Sudan's new ruling military council told the official SUNA news agency.

Ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir deployed troops to Yemen in 2015 as part of a major foreign policy shift that saw Khartoum break its decades-old ties with Shiite Iran and join the Saudi-led coalition.

Several opposition leaders and analysts had questioned Bashir's decision, which he had justified as an "ideological" one.

This was the first major foreign policy announcement made by the new military rulers after ousting Bashir last week and essentially a continuation of his policy. 

Sudanese media reports claim that many of the Sudanese troops fighting in Yemen are from the Rapid Support Force (RSF) paramilitary group.

Hundreds of Sudanese soldiers and officers are fighting in Yemen, and have often suffered casualties raising calls of withdrawal.