Passengers fleeing war-torn Sudan arrive at Qastal land port crossing between Egypt and Sudan on May 13, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)
CAIRO – The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the move to impose an entry visa on Sudanese aims to regulate, not restrict, their entry to Egypt.
"These measures aim to set a regulatory framework for the entry of Sudanese brothers into Egypt, after more than 50 days of the crisis, and are not intended to prevent or limit the number of Sudanese citizens entering the country," said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid in a statement.
Abu Zeid's remarks came in reply to the inquiry of some reporters over the decision made by Egypt earlier in the day to impose an entry visa on Sudanese citizens entering the neighboring country.
Sudan has been locked in internal military clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since mid-April.
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Over 200,000 Sudanese citizens have entered Egypt since the beginning of the crisis, with 5 million already in Egypt before the crisis, according to the statement.