President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has ordered a private jet to repatriate exiled Sudan leader Muhammad Al-Mirghani, head of the Democratic Unionist Party. Al-Mirghani has been living in Egypt since he was ousted from Sudan in 1989.
Al-Mirghani is a member of the Sudanese opposition and has been critical of the Sudanese government. El-Sisi’s decision to repatriate Al-Mirghani is seen as a sign of support for the Sudanese opposition. It is also a response to the recent upsurge in violence in Sudan. Al-Mirghani is expected to arrive in Sudan within the next few days.
Egypt’s Al-Qahera News channel said Al-Mirghani’s return to Khartoum is a continuation of the Egyptian support for the Sudanese national consensus. Egypt has been a staunch supporter of the Sudanese government and its efforts to bring stability and prosperity to the country.
Egypt is also one of the few countries in the region that has a strong relationship with both the Sudanese government and the Sudanese people.
When Islamist leader Sadiq Al-Mirghani left Sudan in 2010, it was amid disagreements within his party back home. He spent a short time in London before moving on to Cairo, where he stayed for nearly a decade.
During that time, Al-Mirghani kept a low profile but was occasionally seen at public events. He also made headlines in 2016 when he was arrested and detained for several hours by Egyptian authorities.
Since then, little has been heard from Al-Mirghani, until now. In a recent interview, he spoke out against the Sudanese government and called for change in the country. It remains to be seen whether his words will have any impact on the current political climate in Sudan.
A spokesman for Al-Mirghani’s Democratic Unionist Party, Omar Khalafallah, said his return compliments a number of files and tasks, including the Sudanese initiative; launched in March to resolve the political crisis.
The return of Al-Mirghani is considered an important development that would add significant weight to the Sudanese initiative. Khalafallah said that Al-Mirghani’s return would allow the Democratic Unionist Party to engage more fully in the political process and press for a more democratic Sudan.
Egypt has been working to increase its dialogue with Sudanese political forces that have long-standing relations with Cairo, in an effort to broker a settlement between the military leaders and the Forces for Freedom and Change. This intensified effort comes as Sudan faces an unprecedented political crisis, with the military-led government violently cracking down on pro-democracy protesters.
Egypt has traditionally been an important player in Sudanese politics, and its involvement in this latest crisis is seen as critical by many. The country has close ties to both the military leaders and the pro-democracy protesters, and is hoping to use its influence to help resolve the conflict.