Sudan’s FM calls to speed-up border demarcation with Ethiopia
July 31, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Foreign Minister El-Dirdeiry Mohamed Ahmed has called for completing border demarcation between Sudan and Ethiopia in order to settle border differences with the eastern neighbour.
During the meeting, Ahmed underscored the need to resume border demarcation between the two countries and prevent infringement on agricultural land.
He pointed out that bilateral relations between the two countries have witnessed an unprecedented development recently.
It is noteworthy that bloody clashes between Sudanese and Ethiopian farmers on the joint border have erupted last month leading to many casualties on both sides.
Ethiopian and Sudanese farmers from two sides of the border dispute the ownership of land in Al-Fashaga area located in the south-eastern part of Sudan’s eastern state of Gedaref.
In the past years, Sudanese authorities accused Ethiopia of controlling more than a million acres of Sudanese agricultural land in the area of Al-Fashaga, saying the area has been completely isolated from Sudan.
Al-Fashaga covers an area of about 250 square kilometres and it has about 600.000 acres of fertile lands. Also, there are river systems flowing across the area including Atbara, Setait and Baslam rivers.
The current borders between Sudan and Ethiopia were drawn by the British and Italian colonisers in 1908. The two governments have agreed in the past to redraw the borders and to promote joint projects between people from both sides for the benefit of local populations.
The joint Sudanese-Ethiopian High Committee announced in December 2013 that it reached an agreement to end disputes between farmers from two sides of the border over the ownership of agricultural land.
In November 2014, the former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and President al-Bashir instructed their Foreign Ministers to fix a date for resuming the border demarcation. The operation had stopped following the death of Ethiopia’s former premier, Meles Zenawi.
(ST)