An image shared on Facebook claims to show Egyptian soldiers escaping from Merowi, Sudan.

Verdict: False

The image has been circulating since 2021. An Egyptian agency said that the image shows Egyptian soldiers on exercise.

Fact Check:

Fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese military continued in the capital and other areas around Sudan this week, according to BBC News. The U.S. is positioning troops for the possible evacuation of the embassy there, the New York Times reported.

The image, which shows Egyptian soldiers running with blue vests over their uniforms, claims to show these troops escaping from Merowi, Sudan. (RELATED: Have 100,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Died In The Russian-Ukrainian War?)

However, this image is unrelated to the current crisis in Sudan. Through a reverse image and keyword search, Check Your Fact found that the image has been circulating since 2021. One iteration, translated by Google Translate, reads, “This is a 5-kilometer suburban run in the morning, and then you go back to breakfast with “lentils and jam,” normal?”

Egypt’s State Information Service, a government agency responsible for public relations, said the image was unrelated to the clashes on Facebook.

“A number of social media users circulated this photo and claimed that it was a photo of Egyptian soldiers escaping from Marawi airport following the clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army. The photo dates back more than a year ago during one of the exercises of the Egyptian armed forces in the “Country Crossing” exercise and has nothing to do with Sudan, near or far,” Egypt’s State Information Service said on Facebook. (This was translated by Google Translate, so there may be some inaccuracies.) 

It is true, though, that Egyptian soldiers were captured by RSF forces, according to Al Jazeera. These soldiers were then returned to Egyptian custody following negotiations, France 24 reported.

This is not the first time images from world events have been misinterpreted or taken out of context by social media users. Check Your Fact recently debunked a post claiming to show a damaged road in Ukraine.