Sudan, Ethiopia discuss 'border issues' for 2 days in Khartoum

CAIRO – 22 December 2020: An Ethiopian delegation arrived in Khartoum Tuesday to discuss the border demarcation matter with the Sudanese side for two days within the framework of the High Joint Committee on Border Issues, as reported by Al Arabiyah.

The meeting is an activation of the committee, and takes place one day after local media reported that the Sudanese Armed Forces was advancing in Al Fashaqa border district occupied by Ethiopia.

Sudan wants its borders to match the description indicated in the 1902 Agreement signed between Ethiopian and Great Britain, which was occupying Sudan at the time.

The Sudanese Armed Forces sent reinforcements to the area after the attack that killed four and injured 20 military personnel who were patrolling the southern borders on December 15, as reported by Sky News Arabia.

The assault came two days after Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok cut his visit to Addis Ababa returning to his homeland after a few hours instead of staying for two days. Some media reported that Hamdok offered mediation between the Ethiopian Federal Government and the Trigray People's Liberation Front but his offer was turned down by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Hamdok issued a press release Wednesday declaring that a force was patrolling Abou Toyour Mountain on the Sudanese territory in the evening of Tuesday, and on its way back, "it was ambushed by Ethiopian militias and forces."

After withdrawing from the tripartite negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in November, Sudan declared agreeing with Ethiopia on resuming talks and activating the High Joint Committee

That was during the meeting of Hamdok and Abiy Ahmed held on December 12, whereas they also congrued on the necessity of holding an IGAD summit as soon as possible. The IGAD region comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

Some Ethiopian groups used to cultivate lands in Sudan's Fashqa district for decades, which was tolerated by overthrown leader Omar al-Bashir but is no longer accepted by the transitional government. In May, Ethiopian militias attacked a camp in the eastern city of al-Qadarif killing and wounding several Sudanese military personnel and civilians.

It is noted that 50,000 out of 950,000 displaced Ethiopians fled to Sudan because of the fighting initiated by the Ethiopian federal government against the Tigray region. 

Sudan and Ethiopia share borders of 1,600 kilometers, while the surface area of the disputed Al Fashaqa region is 250 square kilometers.