Sudan's new premier stresses negotiated settlement of Yemen conflict

Sudan's new Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, says he believes there is no military solution to the ongoing conflict in Yemen, which has been under Saudi-led aggression since March 2015. 

Briefing journalists on his return from Washington, Hamdok told reporters at Khartoum airport on Sunday that there had been no discussions during his visit about withdrawing any troops.

 "Regarding Yemen we said that there is no military solution and there must be a political solution," he said. 

Hamdok vowed to withdraw troops from the Saudi-led war in Yemen, saying on Thursday that his country's role should be limited to assisting in a political resolution of the conflict.

Hamdok, who is leading the country's transitional government in a power-sharing pact with the military, has also stated that he will be "absolutely" able to withdraw the remaining troops from Yemen.

The new Prime Minster said his government had "inherited" the deployment in Yemen from Sudan's former president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who was ousted following a popular uprising against his rule in April.

Sudan has been one of the main contributors to the so-called Saudi coalition against Yemen, but Hamdok said that his country is currently having 5,000 troops operating in the country, down from a peak of 15,000.

While Sudanese officials have abstained from publishing official casualty numbers in Yemen, Yemen's armed forces have said a total 4,253 Sudanese troops have been killed in the conflict.

The developments come as the Saudi-led mission in Yemen has come to a standstill due to the resistance and increasingly sophisticated attacks of Yemeni forces. 

Earlier this year, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Riyadh's most influential partner in the war, was reported to have withdrawn most of its troops from Yemen.

Fearing a protracted quagmire in Yemen, Riyadh has also been reportedly seeking to negotiate an end to the conflict through discussions with the Houthis.

Over 4,000 Sudanese militiamen slain in Saudi-led war against Yemen: Army spox

The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces says a total of 4,253 Saudi-led Sudanese mercenaries have been killed in battles with Yemeni forces.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former President, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, back to power and crushing the Ansarullah movement.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past four and a half years.

The war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.

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