Egyptian Army Targets Gold Miners in Border Areas with Sudan
According to Alhurra, gold mines near the Egyptian-Sudanese border have become areas where livelihoods intersect with smuggling and armed activity, while recent deadly airstrikes have sparked a fresh dispute between Cairo and Khartoum. In Egypt, the military announced the start of the fourth phase of the 'Southern Shield' operation to counter illegal gold mining in the Eastern Desert. Military spokesperson Colonel Ahmed Othman Ali stated that the previous three phases, carried out between June 14 and October 29, resulted in tracking 52 gatherings of 'armed criminal elements', the arrest of 691 people including 151 Egyptians and 540 foreigners, and the surrender of 6,614 individuals prior to operations. Egyptian authorities say the campaign aims to protect mining areas and cut off arms supply lines. In Sudan, with the outbreak of war in April 2023, traditional gold mining or 'Aldahaba' has expanded, and according to a Chatham House report, the sector has become part of the war economy. Sudanese researcher Ammar Al-Arki told Alhurra that the decline of state authority has contributed to the spread of armed groups in mining areas. Meanwhile, Major General Samir Farag, former director of moral affairs for the Egyptian army, told Alhurra that these activities have now become linked to illegal migration, terrorism, and drugs. This complexity came to the fore in October with airstrikes targeting gold mining sites near the border resulting in dozens of deaths; an incident which the Sudanese 'Emergency Lawyers' group attributed to the Egyptian army, prompting Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to order a fact-finding committee.