Sudan prevents ambassador from travelling back to Ethiopia by land

Sudan has prevented Ambassador Yibtalal Amero from travelling overland back to Ethiopia due to tension on the border between the two countries.

A security source told Anadolu Agency that the Ethiopian ambassador submitted a request to the security services in Khartoum on Saturday to allow him to travel by land to his country. The fact that an answer is still not forthcoming implies rejection of the application.

The authorities in Khartoum apparently fear that the ambassador’s life might be endangered due to the situation on the border and in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region. The ambassador, explained the same source, flew to Addis Ababa, where he arrived safely.

On 4 November, armed clashes erupted between the Ethiopian Federal Army and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. The federal government in Addis Ababa announced on 28 November that its forces had ended their operation successfully by controlling the entire region and its capital.

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Sudanese-Ethiopian relations have been tense along the border, sparked by an armed attack against the Sudanese army in Umm Durman in mid-December. Khartoum said that Ethiopian militias had seized the land of Sudanese farmers in the Fashaqa area, after expelling them by force of arms. Sudan also accused the Ethiopian army of supporting these gangs, which Addis Ababa denies, describing the armed groups are outlaws.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced last Sunday that Sudan has agreed to South Sudan mediating to resolve border disputes between his country and Ethiopia.