Ethiopia, Sudan agree to border dispute dialogue
The long-running, frequently violent skirmishes near their border were the topic of a meeting between the leaders of Ethiopia and Sudan on the sidelines of the IGAD conference.
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Al-Burhan (center) met with Ahmed (right) at a regional conference
Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the military chief of Sudan, met on Tuesday in Nairobi, Kenya, to resolve a border dispute that has resulted in violent skirmishes recently.
After the meeting, which took place on the fringes of a summit for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-member regional group for the horn of Africa and neighboring states, Abiy tweeted, "We both made a commitment for dialogue (and) peaceful resolution to outstanding issues."
Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed & Sudan's Military Leader AF Al-Burhan meets at Nairobi on the sidelines of the IGAD conference. Their smile and agreement to resolve all bilateral disputes through dialog is not the message Egypt was hoping for just before the 3rd filling of the GERD Dam. pic.twitter.com/teDeFDBcSQ
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) July 5, 2022
The IGAD conference, according to Al-Burhan, who came to power following a military takeover last year, provided them a chance "to take stock of the response" to difficulties in the area. Yet, he vdid not provide any further details.
"We are happy to convene in a very short time to discuss matters of great importance," he said.
It is worth noting that Sudan's ruling sovereign council said only that there had been a "closed-door meeting" between Al-Burhan and Abiy.
Blame game
The long-running conflict between the two nations over the rich borderland of Al-Fashqa, the area, near Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray, has long been farmed by Ethiopian farmers but is claimed by Sudan, causing tensions to rise and occasionally degenerate into violence.
The most current information came from Sudan, which claimed that seven of its soldiers and a civilian were killed on June 22 after being captured by Ethiopian forces on the Sudanese side of the border and subsequently returned to Ethiopia. Ahmed's administration has denied responsibility and blamed a local militia for the killings.
See more: Ethiopia's Largest Ethnic Groups
