EGYPTIAN security forces have detained hundreds of people on the border with Sudan, accusing them of illegal gold mining and smuggling.

Egypt’s southern region is rich in gold mines and the government has launched big mining operations there, including the Sukari megaproject.

In a statement on Monday, the military said the detainees included 87 Egyptians and 136 others, without naming their countries. 

The region borders Sudan, which is also rich in gold mines, but the chaos of the country’s three-year civil war means that much of the mining there is unregulated. 

More than 50 per cent of the gold mined in Sudan is smuggled out of the country, according to a report in 2024 by a United Nations panel of experts. 

Gold accounts for 70 per cent of the country’s revenue.

Sudan’s military leader Abdel-Fattah Burhan said the government “affirms our full appreciation and respect for our neighbouring countries [to the north and east] and we call upon our citizens to not move towards the borders to incite any problems.”

Gold has been a central part of the war in Sudan between the military, which has Egyptian and Saudi Arabian backing, and United Arab Emirates-supported paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces, which has smuggled out thousands of tons of gold from the Darfur and Kordofan regions to fund itself.