Egypt: Security Forces Free Egyptians ‘Kidnapped’ by RSF in Sudan

One of the freed Egyptians, who was brought back from Sudan, surrounded by his family (MENA)
One of the freed Egyptians, who was brought back from Sudan, surrounded by his family (MENA)
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Egypt: Security Forces Free Egyptians ‘Kidnapped’ by RSF in Sudan

One of the freed Egyptians, who was brought back from Sudan, surrounded by his family (MENA)
One of the freed Egyptians, who was brought back from Sudan, surrounded by his family (MENA)

Egyptian media reported on Thursday that security forces, in coordination with Sudanese authorities, successfully freed a group of Egyptians who had been “kidnapped” by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan.

According to an informed Egyptian source who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat, the freed Egyptians, who have since returned to Egypt following an operation conducted under the “directives of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi,” were traders working in Khartoum. They had been detained by the RSF in areas under its control since last year.

The source clarified that their release was secured through “security arrangements with Sudanese authorities, without any direct Egyptian security intervention on the ground.”

As reported by Egypt’s Middle East News Agency, the Egyptian-Sudanese coordination led to the successful “transfer of the freed Egyptians from conflict zones in central Khartoum to Port Sudan,” before their return to Egypt.

The source also revealed that the Egyptians had initially “refused voluntary repatriation when the internal conflict erupted in Sudan in mid-April 2023, fearing the loss of their businesses.”

According to Egyptian local media, the number of freed individuals was seven, all from Fayoum (south of Cairo), who had been living in Sudan and engaged in the trade of household goods.

The source explained that “RSF control over Khartoum led to the seizure of properties belonging to Sudanese citizens and foreign nationals, including Egyptians.”

He noted that “the kidnapped group was among a small number of Egyptians who chose to remain in Sudan despite the outbreak of war, refusing to join the voluntary repatriation initiative.”

Since the war began in Sudan, the Egyptian government has facilitated the return of approximately 10,000 citizens through air, land, and sea bridges, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Egyptian military expert Major General Samir Farag confirmed that the release of the detainees was achieved through “understandings and communications between Egypt’s security and sovereign agencies and their Sudanese counterparts, rather than through a direct Egyptian security operation inside Sudanese territory.”



Israel Says Apprehended Members of Iran-backed Cell in Syria

06 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarm: An Israeli soldier enforces a ban as he attempts to enter the Tulkarm refugee camp in the West Bank. Photo: Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
06 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarm: An Israeli soldier enforces a ban as he attempts to enter the Tulkarm refugee camp in the West Bank. Photo: Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Israel Says Apprehended Members of Iran-backed Cell in Syria

06 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarm: An Israeli soldier enforces a ban as he attempts to enter the Tulkarm refugee camp in the West Bank. Photo: Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
06 July 2025, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarm: An Israeli soldier enforces a ban as he attempts to enter the Tulkarm refugee camp in the West Bank. Photo: Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Israel's military said Monday it had apprehended members of an Iran-backed cell in southern Syria, the second such operation it has announced in the past week.

Since the December overthrow of Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes primarily on military sites and carried out cross-border ground raids.

In a statement, the military said troops "completed an overnight operation to apprehend a cell that was operated by the Iranian Quds Force in the Tel Kudna area of southern Syria."

"For the second time in the past week... troops completed a targeted overnight operation and apprehended several operatives who posed a threat in the area," the statement added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Israeli forces raided early Monday a village in the Quneitra countryside of southern Syria and "carried out searches targeting several homes, which ended with the arrest of two brothers".

On Wednesday, Israel's military said its forces had apprehended members of an Iranian-backed "terrorist cell" in southern Syria and seized weapons.