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Tensions over control of agricultural land in the border town of al-Fashqa recently witnessed a deadly escalation, while GERD talks have reached a stalemate.
Sudan’s transitional cabinet has backed an initiative by the United Arab Emirates to mediate a border dispute with Ethiopia, as well as a controversial large dam built by Addis Ababa on the Blue Nile River.
Tensions over control of agricultural land in the al-Fashaqa region, on the border, have intensified in recent months, while talks over the operation of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which will affect the volume of water downstream in the Nile in Sudan and Egypt, they are stagnant.
Sudan’s Information Minister Hamza Baloul said Tuesday that the cabinet had supported the Emirati mediation proposal after it had been studied at ministerial level.
It came when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed insisted on Tuesday that his country does not want a war with Sudan, and called for tensions over al-Fashaqa to be resolved peacefully.
Ethiopian farmers have long worked in the fertile border area, but Sudan also claims the agricultural area.
In recent months, Sudan has sent troops to al-Fashaqa, a move Ethiopia deplores as an “invasion.” A series of deadly clashes followed, and the two sides exchanged accusations of violence and land violations.
Abiy, who is already dealing with Ethiopia’s internal conflicts, including in the Tigray region, said his country “is not ready to go into battle.”
“Sudan in its current state is not in a position to fight with a neighboring country, it has many problems. Ethiopia also has many problems. We don’t need war. It is better to solve it peacefully, ”Abiy said.
Dam dispute
The UAE has also offered to mediate the GERD, a hydroelectric megaproject that Egypt and Sudan say threatens their vital water supplies.
Ethiopia says the project is essential for its electrification and development, but Egypt, which relies on the Nile for the vast majority of its freshwater needs, sees the dam as an existential threat, while Sudan fears its own dams will be damaged. if no agreement is reached.
Last month, Khartoum suggested mediation by a quartet from the African Union, the European Union, the United Nations and the United States, a proposal welcomed by Cairo but rejected by Addis Ababa.
On Thursday, Sudan said the four potential mediators had indicated their willingness to take on that role to help resolve the decade-long dispute over the mega dam.
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