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FILE – Prime Minister of the Transitional Cabinet of Sudan, Abdallah Hamdok – Press photo
CAIRO – December 17, 2020: Sudan’s Transitional Cabinet Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok issued a press release on Wednesday confirming news that has been circulating about an assault by Ethiopian armed individuals on a Sudanese military patrol that had place on December 15.
Hamdok said a force was patrolling Abou Toyour mountain in Sudanese territory on Tuesday night, and on its way back, “it was ambushed by Ethiopian militias and forces.” The Sudanese prime minister revealed that the assault resulted in human and material losses, saluting the martyrs.
Sudan’s Transitional Cabinet expressed its support and support for the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as its confidence in its ability to defend itself against any aggression against the country.
After withdrawing from tripartite negotiations on the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in November, Sudan declared agreeing with Ethiopia to resume talks and activate the Joint High Committee on Border Affairs by convening it next week.
That was after a visit by Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, accompanied by Foreign Minister Omar Kamar El Din and head of the General Intelligence Agency, to Addis Ababa on Sunday. The visit was scheduled to last two days, but Hamdok returned to Khartoum after a few hours without clarifying the reasons.
On the other hand, some media reported that Hamdok offered mediation between the Ethiopian Federal Government and the Trigray People’s Liberation Front, but his offer was rejected by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Hamdok and his Ethiopian counterpart, Abiy Ahmed, agreed on the need to hold an IGAD summit as soon as possible. The IGAD region comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
In July, an IGAD summit, chaired by Sudan, met to discuss ways to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak and its aftermath.
Some Ethiopian groups used to farm land in Sudan’s Fashqa region for decades, which was tolerated by the ousted 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 and civilians.
It is noted that 50,000 of the 950,000 displaced Ethiopians fled to Sudan due to clashes started by the Ethiopian federal government against the Tigray region.
