Egypt says two army officers killed in gold-mining crackdown on Sudan border

Egypt's military said on November 5 that two army officers, including a high-ranking border guard officer, were killed during a crackdown on illegal gold mining along the country's southern border with Sudan. A military spokesperson did not specify when the officers died, and it was not immediately clear when the deaths occurred.

The military launched the campaign against illegal gold mining in the Eastern Desert in June, and the first three phases are complete. The spokesperson said the fourth phase was due to begin on Saturday, and that the campaign was intended to strengthen state control over Egyptian territory and protect national resources.

Authorities detained 151 Egyptians and 540 foreigners during the campaign, the spokesperson said. He said there was coordination with Sudan, including recent meetings between Egyptian and Sudanese officials, and that the armed forces of both countries exchanged information on securing the border.

The campaign drew attention after the rights monitor Emergency Lawyers said in October that at least 72 artisanal miners had been killed in an airstrike in northern Sudan, close to the Egyptian border. The group blamed the Egyptian Air Force for the strike. Egypt's military did not refer to the reported strike or the deaths at the time; in a statement then, it said a phase of its campaign in southern Egypt was under way after it dropped warning leaflets on what it described as "criminal elements."

Artisanal gold mining has risen in northern Sudan since Sudan's civil war disrupted livelihoods, according to the report. Gold has become a key revenue source during the conflict, while experts and industry participants say much of it is smuggled into Egypt through a porous and disputed border area that includes the mineral-rich Halayeb and Shalateen regions.