In a shift from recent policy, Cairo backed the removal of longtime Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on April 11. Shortly after Bashir's ouster by the military, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry released a statement expressing support for the "Sudanese people's choice and will" and calling on the international community to "help Sudan to have a peaceful transition." 

The statement surprised some analysts as Egypt had appeared to support the embattled Sudanese president in the months leading up to his overthrow. 

For nearly four months, Cairo had closely monitored the political turmoil in neighboring Sudan. The street protests calling for Bashir to step down had unnerved the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. But the uneasiness caused by the revolt on Egypt's southern border was not because Bashir was a close friend and ally — there was no love lost between Sisi and the toppled Islamist president. The relationship between Egypt and Sudan had often been tense: A longstanding dispute over the Halayeb Triangle (border territory administered by Egypt and claimed by Sudan) and conflicting views on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, currently under construction, are bones of contention that cast a shadow over bilateral ties. While Sudan has expressed its support for the building of the dam, Egypt sees it as an existential threat, fearing a reduction in its own water supply once the project is completed.

Cairo's backing for Bashir had largely stemmed from the need to protect its own vital security interests amid fears that the instability in Sudan could spill over the border into Egypt. Egypt already faces a major security challenge on its western border with Libya and has had to reinforce its troops there to counter infiltration attempts by jihadis and weapons smuggling. Beefing up security along the southern border with Sudan at a time when the Egyptian military is engaged in counterterrorism operations in the Sinai Peninsula would spread the troops too thin.