This week Sudan’s Prime Minister met up with Ethiopia’s Prime Minister and held private discussions together in Djibouti. Sudan’s Prime Minister’s office confirmed that the meeting took place in the horn of Africa nation of Djibouti. His office added that Ethiopian and Sudanese officials would convene later on in Sudan’s capital for border talks. No further details were provided concerning the meeting.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Visits Ethiopia after Attack
Sudan forces currently continue to succeed in reclaiming territories controlled by the Ethiopian militants positioned along the two countries’ borders. The two Prime Ministers agreed to meet up after a cross-border attack occurred at the borders. The attack involved some Ethiopian forces and militias that killed at least four Sudanese troops and wounded a dozen others. The armed attackers carried out the attack in the Abu Tyour area in eastern Sudan’s al-Qadarif province.
When the attack occurred in Sudan’s al-Qadarif province, Sudan’s military had deployed some forces to reclaim territories in the area. The territories are controlled by Ethiopian farmers in the region and some militants in Sudan’s al-Fashqa border area. After the attacks, Sudan’s state-run news agency reported that Sudan’s forces had sent in large reinforcements to reclaim what the militants had once again taken back. The troops sent in were ordered to stop taking control of land once they get to the borderline. The Sudanese government enforced the orders to stop at the borderline because of an agreement struck in 1902 between Sudan and Ethiopia.
Conflict in Tigray
The cross-border attack in Sudan’s Abu Tyour occurred while weekslong fighting was continuing in Ethiopia’s northern Tigry region. The conflict in northern Tigray pitted the Federal government troops of Ethiopia against the Tigray federal forces. So far, Tigray’s fighting has caused the displacement of over 52,000 Ethiopians into Sudan, mostly into the al-Qadarif province.
To avoid the fighting from spilling over across their border with Tigray, Sudan deployed more than 6,000 troops in the Tigray region. So far, the attack in al-Qadarif was the latest operation where Ethiopian forces and militants carried out on Sudanese soldiers and people in seven months. Such attacks on Sudan have constantly strained the ties between Sudan and Ethiopia for a long while.
Talks between Sudan and Ethiopia
The two countries have, however, held numerous talks between Ethiopian farmers and the Sudanese government over the year. During the discussions, the Sudanese government encourages Ethiopian farmers to withdraw from Sudan’s al-Fashqa border area. But the Ethiopian farmers have cultivated the land in the region for numerous years and are very reluctant to leave.
Following the attack in al-Qadarif, the head of Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan, visited Ethiopia’s al-Qadarif region. While there, he spent three days overseeing the deployment of heavily armed troops to the border of Sudan and Ethiopia. The troops would be expected to recover the land the militants in al-Qadarif had retaken and maintain peace in the region.
This week the Ethiopian Prime Minister downplayed the attack in al-Qadariff, saying that such incidents could not break the bonds between Ethiopia and Sudan.
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