South Sudan’s Kiir welcomes Sudan, Ethiopia border talks
July 6, 2022 (JUBA) – South Sudan President Salva Kiir has welcomed recent talks aimed at resolving the border disputes between Sudan and Ethiopia.
On Tuesday, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said he had reached an agreement with the leader of neighbouring Sudan to peacefully settle a border dispute that has led to armed clashes.
The talks between the two leaders follow last month’s military clashes in a volatile border region in which Sudan claimed Ethiopian forces had captured and killed its soldiers – a claim which Addis Ababa dismissed.
Abiy met Sudan’s military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in Kenya’s capital Nairobi on the sidelines of a meeting of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states.
Kiir, according to his security affairs advisor, stressed the roles Ethiopia and Sudan have played in maintaining the peace and security of the region.
“The government and people recognize and appreciate the progress made in the implementation of the peace agreement and the discussions aimed at moving forward with the political process. His Excellency the president [of South Sudan] acknowledges and commends the decision of his brother Gen Abdel Fattah to move forward”, said Tut Gatluak Manime.
He said Sudan and Ethiopia play “critical” roles in maintaining peace and stability.
“In the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia is playing an important and Sudan is playing another important role in the Sahel region and in the Middle East. Because of this important role, His Excellency the president has been making several mediation initiatives which the leadership of the two countries has finally accepted and his excellency is encouraging direct talks, which recently started between the two leaders in Nairobi, Kenya”, stressed Manime.
The official cautioned that political unrest in Sudan and in Ethiopia may potentially cause instability in the region and affect development efforts.
In recent years, a long-running dispute over a contested fertile border region, al-Fashaqa, has fuelled a surge in tensions between the two countries, including clashes.
(ST)