Sudan says faces 'threat' on Egypt-Eritrea border

Sudan said Sunday it was facing a “security threat” from its border with neighboring Egypt and Eritrea.

“Sudan doesn’t talk about a specific build-up by a specific country, but we are talking about a threat to our territories from the eastern border,” Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told a joint news conference with his Ethiopian counterpart Workneh Gebeyehu in Khartoum.

“There are some opposition forces on the eastern border; this is why we are anticipating whatever danger can come from there,” the top diplomat stated.

“Sudan’s national army has sent part of its forces to this area to protect Sudan’s security as we have information that some parties are targeting us,” he said.

Last Saturday, Sudan closed its border with Eritrea and sent thousands of troops to the Kassala state near the border.

Read: UAE-backed Egyptian forces arrive in Eritrea

Previously, on January 4, Khartoum had recalled its ambassador from Egypt for consultation, amid tension with Cairo over a disputed border region.

Cairo reacted to the move by saying that it was assessing the situation to give an “appropriate response”.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gebeyehu, for his part, called on Khartoum and Cairo to ease tension between the two sides.

“We hope that any tension will be eased through negotiations and peaceful means,” he said. “If there is any misunderstanding, we will still continue to work peacefully to bring ideas to the table and talk about that,” he said.

The minister denied media reports that Egypt had asked Addis Ababa to exclude Sudan from ongoing talks about a multi-billion-dollar dam being built by Ethiopian on the Nile, which Egypt fears  would reduce its water share.

“There is no any intention to exclude Sudan,” he said.

Read: Sudan’s al-Bashir pledges to develop country’s military capabilities