Egypt Cracks Down on Gold Mining as 72 Sudan Miners Reported Dead
(MENAFN) Egypt’s military said late Monday it is pressing a sweeping campaign against illegal gold mining in the Eastern Desert, while stressing its close bond with Sudan, as Khartoum launched an inquiry into the deaths of miners near the Egyptian border.
In a statement, the armed forces said troops and civilian police have entered the third phase of a large-scale operation against unauthorized gold exploration. The military said the push followed the airdropping of warning leaflets and aims to enforce sovereignty within Egypt’s borders and safeguard national resources and wealth.
The campaign began June 22, when the military announced the detention of people involved in illegal mining, among them Sudanese nationals. The second phase opened Aug. 2, and the third started Monday.
The military affirmed “the depth of the ties linking the Egyptian and Sudanese nations at the political and popular levels,” pointing to the peaceful coexistence of millions of Sudanese living in Egypt as proof. It urged citizens of both countries to rely on official sources and reject misleading rumors and foreign agendas seeking to damage relations between the two peoples.
The statement did not directly address allegations that Egyptian aircraft may have struck miners on Sudanese soil.
Diplomacy moved in parallel. Earlier Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Sudanese counterpart, Mohieddin Salem, spoke by phone and stressed mutual respect for each country’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and borders, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
Also Monday, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, ordered a fact-finding committee to investigate the reported killing of miners near the Egyptian border on Saturday.
On Sunday, the independent Emergency Lawyers group said the toll from an airstrike in the North al-Wadi area of Sudan had climbed to 72 miners. It said Egyptian aircraft were suspected of carrying out the attack.
The stakes are high for Sudan’s economy. Artisanal mining employs more than 2 million people, often in harsh conditions, and generates roughly 80% of the country’s gold output. The government permits the work while trying to regulate the sector. Sudan depends on gold as a key source of foreign currency, having lost three-quarters of its oil revenues when South Sudan seceded in July 2011.
The country has been consumed by war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023. The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about 13 million, according to UN and international estimates.
In a statement, the armed forces said troops and civilian police have entered the third phase of a large-scale operation against unauthorized gold exploration. The military said the push followed the airdropping of warning leaflets and aims to enforce sovereignty within Egypt’s borders and safeguard national resources and wealth.
The campaign began June 22, when the military announced the detention of people involved in illegal mining, among them Sudanese nationals. The second phase opened Aug. 2, and the third started Monday.
The military affirmed “the depth of the ties linking the Egyptian and Sudanese nations at the political and popular levels,” pointing to the peaceful coexistence of millions of Sudanese living in Egypt as proof. It urged citizens of both countries to rely on official sources and reject misleading rumors and foreign agendas seeking to damage relations between the two peoples.
The statement did not directly address allegations that Egyptian aircraft may have struck miners on Sudanese soil.
Diplomacy moved in parallel. Earlier Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Sudanese counterpart, Mohieddin Salem, spoke by phone and stressed mutual respect for each country’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and borders, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
Also Monday, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, ordered a fact-finding committee to investigate the reported killing of miners near the Egyptian border on Saturday.
On Sunday, the independent Emergency Lawyers group said the toll from an airstrike in the North al-Wadi area of Sudan had climbed to 72 miners. It said Egyptian aircraft were suspected of carrying out the attack.
The stakes are high for Sudan’s economy. Artisanal mining employs more than 2 million people, often in harsh conditions, and generates roughly 80% of the country’s gold output. The government permits the work while trying to regulate the sector. Sudan depends on gold as a key source of foreign currency, having lost three-quarters of its oil revenues when South Sudan seceded in July 2011.
The country has been consumed by war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023. The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about 13 million, according to UN and international estimates.
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