Sudan has 5,000 troops operating in Yemen, down from a peak of 15,000, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said on Sunday, adding that he believed no military solution was possible.

Briefing journalists on his return from Washington, Hamdok said there had been no discussions during his visit about withdrawing the troops.

“Regarding Yemen we said that there is no military solution and there must be a political solution,” Hamdok told reporters at Khartoum airport.

Sudanese troops have been deployed as part of a Saudi-led alliance that intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Houthi movement that controls the capital.

The conflict is seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Houthis, who control most big urban centers, say they are fighting a corrupt system.

Riyadh has been holding informal talks with the Houthis since late September about a ceasefire, sources have said, as it seeks to exit an unpopular war after its main coalition partner the United Arab Emirates withdrew troops.

The four-year war has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed millions to the brink of famine.

-Reuters