Egypt toughens visa rules for Sudanese nationals fleeing war

Egypt has announced a new policy requiring all citizens of neighbouring Sudan to obtain visas before crossing the border as a United States and Saudi Arabia-brokered ceasefire took effect in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

The Egyptian foreign ministry imposed the new regulations on Saturday, justifying the move as a crackdown on “illegal activities” including fraud.
The decision was a reversal of a longstanding exemption for children, women and elderly men.

More than 200,000 Sudanese nationals have entered Egypt, most of them through land crossings, since fighting broke out two months ago between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Burhan’s former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The intense clashes have killed more than 1,800 people, according to a monitoring group, and displaced more than 1.9 million.The Egyptian foreign ministry said the new visa procedures aim to regulate “the entry of the brotherly Sudanese [people] into Egypt after more than 50 days of crisis” in their country.