Egypt, Sudan hold joint military drill on border security

 Egypt and Sudan have launched a joint military exercise dubbed Guardian of the South-2 at the border guard training fields complex in Egypt, Egyptian Armed Forces spokesperson, Colonel Gharib Abdel Hafez, announced yesterday.

"The Egyptian border guards and the Sudanese infantry are participating in the exercise, which will last for several days," Colonel Abdel Hafez said in a statement.

The first phase of the training included an "exhibition of weapons and equipment used by border security to combat smuggling and infiltration, as well as lectures and practical exercises for both sides to exchange combat expertise," the statement added.

This comes within the framework of the "joint training plan to transfer and exchange experiences, enhance aspects of military cooperation, and develop joint action between the Egyptian and Sudanese armed forces."

Over the past two years, the Egyptian and Sudanese armies have increased joint exercises, in light of tensions with Ethiopia over Addis Ababa's Renaissance dam on the Nile River.