Egypt’s Growing Role in Sudan’s War: SAF, Drones and Nile Politics
Egypt’s Role in Influencing and Potentially Prolonging the Sudan Crisis Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) shakes hands with Sudan's army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Cairo on 18 December 2025. Sudan’s war has increasingly become more than a domestic confrontation between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Regional powers have developed competing interests in the conflict, and Egypt occupies a particularly important position because of its border with Sudan, longstanding military relationship with the SAF and shared strategic concerns over the Nile. EUAA analysis of international actors in Sudan Egypt has consistently presented its Sudan policy as one focused on preserving Sudan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and state institutions. Cairo has also repeatedly called for a ceasefire and an end to the bloodshed. But Egypt’s close political relationship with SAF commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, combined with reports ...