Sudan official: ‘Mediation between Khartoum and Addis Ababa faces obstacles’

An official of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council on Friday announced that Juba’s mediation efforts to end border tensions between Khartoum and Addis Ababa “faces obstacles”.

In a statement to Anadolu Agency, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that the President of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit is seeking to host an upcoming meeting between the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in the capital, Juba.

The source added: “The mediation efforts in Juba face some obstacles; most notably Ethiopia’s conditions for the withdrawal of the Sudanese army, and Addis Ababa’s insistence on fixing internationally-recognised border markers.”

On Thursday during an official visit to Khartoum, the security advisor to the president of South Sudan, Tut Galuak, delivered a letter from his country’s president to Al-Burhan: “Regarding Juba’s efforts to end the border tension between Sudan and Ethiopia.”

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The security advisor also announced an upcoming meeting between Al-Burhan and Mayardit in Juba to discuss the border tension between Khartoum and Addis Ababa, according to a previous statement by the Sovereignty Council.

On 14 January, Juba announced its readiness to mediate between Sudan and Ethiopia to solve the border crisis.

The border areas between the two countries have recently witnessed many developments, leading to the Sudanese army’s intervention at the end of the year to “control all of its territories” while accusing Ethiopia of supporting the gangs attacking its lands. Hence, Addis Ababa continues to deny the allegations, amid the ongoing stalling of the border demarcation negotiations.