The African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Wednesday called for “restraint, calm and dialogue” as military tension between Ethiopia and Sudan escalates, reported CGTN Africa.
Tensions between the two countries flared up on Sunday after the Sudanese military accused Ethiopia’s forces of executing seven Sudanese soldiers and a civilian along the border. Ethiopia denied the accusations blaming the incident on a local militia.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said he was following with “deep concern” the military escalations between Sudan and Ethiopia.
“The chairperson appeals for complete refrain from any military action whatever its origin and calls for dialogue between the two brotherly countries to solve any dispute,” the AU statement read.
He further called on the two sides to hold negotiation talks under the auspices of the AU Border Program.
Workneh Gebeyehu, the Executive Secretary of IGAD, also expressed his deep concern on the recent border escalation between Ethiopia and Sudan in a post on his official twitter page.
He called on the two countries to exercise utmost restraint and avoid actions that can further heighten tensions and actively seek diplomatic means to find a lasting and sustainable solution on the matter.
Relations between Khartoum and Addis Ababa have soured over Al-Fashaqa, which is close to Ethiopia’s restive Tigray region. According to reports, Sudan had already rejected any talks with Ethiopia on the disputed area as it claims that there are already two border demarcation agreements sealed in 1902 and 1975.
The dispute over Al-Fashaqa is fuelling wider tensions over land and water between the neighbours, particularly stoked by Ethiopia’s Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.
Sudan and Egypt, both downstream countries, have been pushing for an agreement on the filling of its reservoir and the dam’s operations.
