The Egyptian military said it had arrested 691 people, including 151 Egyptians and 540 foreign nationals, during an operation targeting illegal gold mining activities near the country’s border with Sudan.
Army spokesman Ahmed Etman disclosed this on Thursday, saying that more than 6,000 other individuals surrendered before the military operation began.
The army also released images which it said showed illegal gold mining activities in the border area.
The operation came amid concerns over the security and humanitarian implications of illegal mining along the Egypt-Sudan border.
At least 72 gold miners were reportedly killed in October during airstrikes in the border region, with a rights organisation accusing the Egyptian Air Force of carrying out the attack.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Government Promises Accountability Over 37 Miners Deaths
Speaking at a news conference, Etman appeared to reject allegations that civilians had been deliberately targeted, maintaining that the military operations were based on verified intelligence.
“Operations were conducted based on precise and confirmed intelligence, complete with coordinates of weapons and ammunition depots, which were targeted using armed unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), no civilians were targeted,” he said.
Gold has become a significant source of revenue in Sudan’s ongoing conflict, with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused of smuggling gold from the Darfur and Kordofan regions to finance their operations.
A 2024 report by the United Nations Panel of Experts estimated that more than 50 per cent of Sudan’s mined gold was smuggled out of the country.
The arrests highlighted wider security and economic challenges associated with illegal gold mining and the illicit trade in minerals across the region.
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