Senior Egyptian military official in Sudan to discuss border issues

April 28, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Egypt’s military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sedki Sobhi arrived in Khartoum on Sunday for talks with Sudanese officials that will focus on controlling the borders.

Sobhi was met by his Sudanese counterpart Colonel General Esmat Abdel-Rahman who told reporters after a joint meeting that they discussed military cooperation in training, securing the borders and production projects.

He said that talks will continue between the technical teams to review training and military cooperation between the two countries.

But a military source speaking to Cairo-based al-Masry al-Youm said that Sobhi will convey a message from Defense Minister General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi emphasizing that Egypt will not forfeit “one inch” of the disputed border region of Halayeb and Shalateen.

This month a controversy erupted in Egypt following assertions by Sudanese presidential assitant Musa Mohamed Ahmed that president Muhammad Morsi promised during his recent visit to Khartoum to restore the situation in Halayeb to its pre-1995 status.

Morsi came under fire from opposition groups who accused him of undermining Egyptian sovereignty.

The Egyptian army seized control of Halayeb region, an area of land measuring 20,580 square km in the border areas of the Red Sea coast, after relations between the two neighbors plummeted due to the 1995’s failed attempt by Islamists allegedly backed by Sudan to assassinate the then Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa.

The genesis of the disputes over Halayeb dates back to as early as 1958 after Sudan gained independence from being ruled jointly by Britain and Egypt. The wrangle is a result of a discrepancy in the demarcation of political boundaries set by the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium and the ones set earlier by the British in 1902.

Cairo has routinely dismissed Khartoum’s demands that the issue be resolved through international arbitration.

The source further said that the two countries will discuss ways to control illegal immigration flowing through Egypt’s borders with Sudan.

According to Cairo local media, Egyptian border patrol forces foiled a human trafficking operation near the Sudanese border last week. Two vehicles carrying 196 refugees were stopped by border patrol forces. The Libyan driver, thought to be the owner of an AK-47 rifle, ammunition, and a satellite phone found in one vehicle, was arrested.

(ST)